


Love Ain't Easy

by disturbinglynic



Category: Alphas
Genre: Gay Bashing, M/M, Rimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-20
Updated: 2013-04-20
Packaged: 2017-12-08 21:07:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 45,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/766017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disturbinglynic/pseuds/disturbinglynic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set a couple of years after season one but without the inclusion of season two.<br/>On a whim Cameron invites Gary to live with him. A developing friendship leads to feelings that Cameron tries to ignore until Gary's crush on Cameron becomes obvious. With next to no support from friends and family, Cameron and Gary start a relationship. As they learn how to be together in a romantic relationship, outside forces, such as broken bones, a gay bashing, and Gary meeting an autistic female that he feels a connection with, conspire against them. Despite all of that, Gary and Cameron persevere and find something worth holding on to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

>   
>   
>  Art by [chibifukurou](http://chibifukurou.livejournal.com/)  
> 

Cameron wasn’t sure what made him do it. He had a bigger place now with an extra room and there was really no reason that Gary should continue living at the office. And Cameron couldn’t deny that it would be nice to have somebody around.

 

Gary was a decent guy. He made Cameron laugh. He would keep to himself, for the most part. He wouldn’t leave a mess. He would be an ideal roommate. Cameron was the one who wasn’t an ideal roommate. In some ways he was being selfish by inviting Gary to stay with him.

 

That was only part of it though. There really was no reason that Gary should continue living at the office. Cameron would be able to give him enough space so that he wouldn’t feel crowded and could still feel like he was standing on his own two feet. He knew how important that was to Gary.

 

It would be strange living on a schedule, but that would be easy enough to get used to. He didn’t think he would be able to sleep on Gary’s schedule, but eating on his schedule he could probably do.

 

Gary was actually easy enough to please. He liked things a particular way and as long as everything was that way, he was happy. 

 

The biggest problem he was facing right now was Gary’s mother. She didn’t want Gary living with him, and Cameron could understand that. If he were Gary’s mother, he wouldn’t want Gary living with him either. He wasn’t a danger to Gary though. If anything, he was probably the person who best got along with Cameron, at least from Cameron’s perspective. Gary had that strange friendship with Bill even though there were days that Bill had less patience for Gary than Cameron did.

 

Ultimately it wasn’t up go Gary’s mother. Gary was an adult and the decision was his alone. 

 

Cameron didn’t know what it was that made Gary decide to accept his offer and move in with Cameron, but he did. Maybe he was just tired of living on his own. Maybe he was just tired of living in the office. Whatever it was, Cameron was glad for it.

 

He wouldn’t say that he and Gary were exactly friends. They got along well enough but Gary didn’t really do friends, unless you counted that strange friendship with Bill. Cameron thought that maybe that was more like Gary looking up to Bill. He could see that.

 

Gary was friendly enough with everyone on the team but it wasn’t as if he strived to spend time with them, and it wasn’t as if he talked to them after hours. He didn’t think that was entirely Gary’s fault though. The team didn’t really make much of an effort to actually be friends with him. They all liked him and they all liked having him on the team and they hated when anything bad happened to him, but none of them could really consider Gary a friend either. 

 

It was easy to move Gary in with him. He didn’t have a lot of stuff at the office, and though they went back to his mother’s place, Gary didn’t take much stuff from their either. He supposed that Gary wasn’t really attached to his possessions and that his ability kept him well enough entertained. 

 

He and Gary adjusted easily to each other. There was no awkwardness. There wasn’t any trouble adjusting to Gary’s schedule. It was like he and Gary had been living together for years.

 

Gary kept mostly to himself. Sometimes he would complain or talk about something random, but he mostly just watched whatever he watched with his abilities and left Cameron alone.

 

Cameron actually liked living on a schedule. It meant that there were no surprises in his day. Not at home at least. Work was a completely different story.

 

He didn’t know if Gary felt less lonely now that he was living with Cameron, but Cameron knew that he felt less lonely now. As quiet of a presence that Gary was, it was nice to have someone around who understood what it was like to have these abilities. It was nice to be around someone who knew what it was like to be different. It was nice to have somebody around that actually liked him as a person. 

 

He might have decided to ask Gary to move in with him on a whim, but he didn’t have any regrets. 

 

*****

*****

 

Cameron was nearly asleep when he heard noises coming from Gary’s bedroom. He got up and went to investigate. It sounded like Gary was having a nightmare so he opened the door to check on him. 

 

Gary was moaning and thrashing around. He was definitely having a nightmare. Cameron didn’t know how to stop it though. If it had been anyone else then Cameron would have grasped their shoulders and shaken them awake. He wasn’t going to risk that with Gary. Gary didn’t like to be touched and Cameron worried that he would cause more damage than anything.

 

“Gary!” he tried instead. When that didn’t work, he tried a couple more times. It had to work. He wasn’t going to shake Gary awake. Maybe one day he could, but it wasn’t something he was going to try right now.

 

Finally Gary woke up. He looked confused about where he was and why Cameron was standing in his bedroom.

 

Cameron cleared his throat. “Hey. Sorry. You were having a nightmare. I tried to wake you up but I didn’t want to come over there and shake you.”

 

“Thank you, Hicks. I’m going to go back to sleep now.” 

 

Cameron didn’t walk away though. Gary looked really shaken up. “Gary, if you want, I have a really big bed. You could sleep in it with me tonight if you want.”

 

“Why would I do that?”

 

“It’s a comfort thing. It’s supposed to make you feel better. Sometimes after a nightmare a person can sleep better with another person in bed with them.”

 

“Why?”

 

Cameron shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess because it’s like there’s somebody there to protect you.”

 

“I don’t need anyone to protect me. I can take care of myself.”

 

“I know you can. It’s not about that. Look, Gary, I’m going to go back to bed. If you want to, you can join me.”

 

Cameron left Gary’s bedroom and headed back to his own. He wasn’t expecting Gary to join him. Gary didn’t really do comfort so he was surprised when, after he had only been in bed for a few minutes, Gary showed up at his door.

 

“I’d like to try.”

 

Cameron pulled back the covers in a clear invitation for Gary to get in. Gary shuffled over and climbed into bed with him. He stayed on his own side and Cameron left him to it despite the strong urge to wrap his arms around Gary. Gary wouldn’t like that and Cameron wasn’t even sure why he wanted to do that. It didn’t make sense. 

 

He ignored the urge and stayed on his own side of the bed. He waited until he was sure that Gary was asleep before allowing himself to relax and fall asleep himself.

 

***

 

He was awoken in the morning by Gary’s alarm. He buried his head underneath his pillow and groaned. It was too early to be up. He didn’t need long to get ready so he could get up about ten minutes before they left since he didn’t sit down and eat breakfast either, no matter how much grief Gary gave him over that. 

 

Gary, on the other hand, had his routine to get through, so he had to be up at his specified time so he could get through it. 

 

He waited until Gary had finished his routine, yelling included, before he got up and showered. Then he drove the both of them to work. It wasn’t different from any other day together since Gary had moved in with him. 

 

Neither of them brought up the fact that Gary had spent the night in his bed. Neither of them had counseling sessions with Dr. Rosen that day either, so Gary wouldn’t be telling him about it just yet. Cameron had no doubt that Gary would tell Dr. Rosen at some point. 

 

It didn’t bother Cameron. He was used to Gary saying whatever was on his mind. He wasn’t a stellar secret keeper, though if he was asked to keep something a secret he did try. He was likely to accidentally let it slip though. It wasn’t malicious and after the first few embarrassing secrets made their way out, Cameron just didn’t even care anymore.

 

Cameron didn’t care if Gary told Dr. Rosen that they had slept in the same bed together, so he didn’t bother telling Gary to keep it a secret. He couldn’t imagine Dr. Rosen having too much of an issue with it anyway.

 

They managed to survive a work day without anything significant, which was a relief. It was nice to have quiet days at work. 

 

He and Gary had a quiet, lazy evening at home and Cameron decided to turn in early, or rather he decided to turn in at the same time that Gary did. The extra sleep wouldn’t hurt him.

 

He was just about to get into bed when Gary showed up and hovered at his door.

 

“Is something wrong?” Cameron asked because he couldn’t quite figure out why Gary was acting so hesitant. That wasn’t like him.

 

“I liked last night.”

 

Cameron smiled to himself. “Gary, do you want to sleep in here with me again?”

 

“It was nice.”

 

Cameron gestured to the side of the bed that Gary had slept in last night. “Get in. I’ll be in in a minute.”

 

Cameron watched Gary get into bed and smiled. He wondered if anyone at work would believe him if he told them. He wouldn’t tell them though, and he honestly wasn’t even sure if Gary would tell any of them except for Dr. Rosen, if he even told Dr. Rosen. 

 

Cameron finished getting ready for bed and then joined Gary. They stayed on their sides of the bed again. It was nice. Cameron couldn’t believe he was thinking this, but as strange as this was, he didn’t want it to stop.

 

“Gary, if you wanted to, you could just stay here. You could sleep in my bed every night. It’s big enough for the two of us. If you want to.”

 

“Okay.”

 

One simple word and it was done.

 

*****

 

Five months ago Gary had moved in with him. One month ago Gary had started sleeping in the same bed as him. 

 

For whatever reason, Gary hadn’t told Dr. Rosen yet and Cameron got the feeling he wasn’t going to. As much as Cameron really didn’t mind when Gary shared things, he had to admit that it was nice having a secret shared between the two of them. He didn’t know why.

 

He also didn’t know why Gary hadn’t said anything. He wasn’t going to let that bother him though.

 

Gary was on his side of the bed right now and Cameron was on his own. They never talked in bed, not after Cameron had told Gary that he could stay here with him. He wondered what would happen if he told Gary that he wanted to start sleeping alone again, or that he wanted be alone for even a night. It wasn’t true, and it would be a very cruel thing to do to Gary, so he never did. He just wondered how Gary would react to that. 

 

Cameron was happy with the way things were anyway.

 

Tyler hadn’t stayed over since Gary had moved into his bed, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to explain this to Tyler when he did stay over. Gary being here hadn’t been an issue so far, but Gary sleeping in his bed was something completely different. Not that there was anything going on, or that there would be anything going on. It was just a comfort thing. He just didn’t know if Tyler was going to understand that or if Tyler would even be okay with it. 

 

Cameron was worrying about it like he and Gary were in a relationship that was something more than friendship. He needed to stop doing that. Except just like everything else that had happened since Gary had moved in, sleeping in the same bed with Gary wasn’t at all awkward. 

 

Nothing had been awkward. There was no reason to dwell on any of it. He and Gary just fit well together. That was all it was.

 

*****

Cameron had his feet propped up on the coffee table, book in hand. Gary sat on the other end of the couch watching whatever it was that he watched. Sometimes he laughed and sometimes he commented on what he saw. This was a normal evening for the two of them. This had become a familiar routine almost as if it were part of Gary’s schedule. 

 

They still didn’t talk much. Gary still liked his quiet and Cameron enjoyed it too, but they were developing a bond. He didn’t know if that was also because of the fact that Gary slept in his bed with him, but he liked to think that they would have probably become close friends anyway, and he knew that they were on their way there.

 

And just because they didn’t talk much didn’t mean that they never talked at all. They had conversations. Usually while they were cooking. Gary opened up to him and Cameron knew for a fact that Gary told him things that he didn’t tell Dr. Rosen. Cameron opened up to Gary as well, telling him things he had long kept to himself. Gary would tell the group at work what they did in their spare time, but he had long ago learned to keep their conversations to himself. Most of them. Cameron had never asked him to do that, but Gary had quickly figured out the things that Cameron had kept to himself for so long and he never told anyone about them.

 

Dr. Rosen encouraged his friendship with Gary. He liked that Gary had someone else that he could talk to and even that Cameron had someone else that he could open up to. He had even managed to convince Sandra that Gary living with him was turning out to be a good thing. It was something that she could see for herself anyway. Gary had grown. There was no denying that. Cameron liked to think he had a part in that.

 

He had invited Gary to live here because he hadn’t liked the idea of him sleeping at the office, but there hadn’t really been much more to it. At least that was what he told himself. He still didn’t really know why he had done it. Sure he was protective of Gary, they all were, but nobody else had invited Gary into their homes. Cameron sometimes wondered if the bond he knew was growing now had actually been there all along and that was what had made him take Gary in.

 

It had definitely turned into a good thing though. Cameron had really been enjoying having someone around, especially someone who was quiet and neat. Cameron didn’t know for sure, but he was pretty sure that Gary would agree with him on that. Maybe not necessarily about having someone around, but at least Gary would agree with him that it was nice to be around someone who was quiet and neat. Although considering Gary still slept in his bed, he probably did enjoy having someone around.

 

“Is there anything you want to do this weekend?” he asked Gary.

 

Gary stopped what he was doing and thought about it. “I think I just want to stay here where it’s quiet.”

 

“Okay. Another weekend at home it is then.”

 

“I like staying home. It’s quiet here and there aren’t a lot of people around.”

 

“Just me.”

 

“Just you. You’re not loud.”

 

“No I’m not. Anything good on tonight that we can watch together?”

 

Gary grinned at him and put something on the TV for them to watch. He put his book down and got comfortable. Gary stopped watching his own thing and focused on what he had put on the television. 

 

Cameron smiled. Once again he thanked whatever it was that had made him decide to invite Gary into his home. 

 

*****

Cameron was trying to act like nothing was different. It wasn’t like anything had changed. Everything was the same. The car ride to work was tense and silent. He didn’t know if Gary had picked up on it or not. It felt obvious to Cameron though.

 

It wasn’t his fault he had woken up in the middle of the night, heart racing, sweaty, and with sticky pajamas. It wasn’t his fault that Gary had been the star of that dream. 

 

Cameron’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. How had this happened? Was it just because they were sleeping in the same bed together? Was it because they were living together? Did Cameron actually have feelings for Gary? If he did, how the fuck had that happened? 

 

Gary was his friend, nothing more. How could it ever be something more? Not with Gary. Gary was too young. Gary was too innocent.

 

Cameron just needed to get laid. That’s all it was. That’s all it could be. 

 

He didn’t see that as a possibility right now though. Not with Gary staying with him. And also because he didn’t really want to. He would just have to take more time to take care of himself. Hopefully that would solve the problem.

 

He had to solve the problem. There was no way that he could have feelings for Gary. That wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t going to let it happen.

 

Cameron was very aware that he was freaking out and he could feel Gary’s eyes on him as well. It seemed that Gary had noticed that there was something wrong with Cameron. 

 

Cameron took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. He didn’t need Gary to start asking questions, or worse, to say something to anyone on the team about Cameron’s weird behavior. There would be plenty of time to panic later. Like in bed after Gary had already fallen asleep.

 

Yes. That was a good plan. That was what he was going to do.

 

Cameron took another deep breath and focused on ignoring what had happened last night. He hoped they had an Alpha that they needed to find today. It would make things so much easier if he didn’t have to sit in front of his computer all day.

 

Luck was not on his side. He was stuck in front of his computer, and even worse, he was visited by Dr. Rosen.

 

“What’s up, Doc?”

 

“Gary tells me that he feels there is something bothering you.”

 

Cameron had hoped that Gary wouldn’t say anything, but he had prepared for this. “I just have a few things on my mind. That’s all.”

 

“Anything you would like to talk about?”

 

“No thanks, Doc. I just need to work some things out on my own. Nothing serious.”

 

Dr. Rosen nodded. “Well if you want to talk, you know where to find me.”

 

“Thanks, Doc.”

 

A few minutes after Dr. Rosen walked out, Gary showed up. “Did you talk to Dr. Rosen?”

 

“He asked me if something was bothering me and I told him I had a few things on my mind. That was all.”

 

“Do you want to talk to me?” Gary offered. 

 

Cameron grinned. It was sweet of Gary to offer. “Sorry, Gary. This is something I need to figure out on my own.”

 

“Okay. Well if you want to talk, we can. I’m a good listener.”

 

“Yes you are, Gary.”

 

Gary walked out of his office and Cameron let his head fall down to his desk and he let out a groan. He was pretty sure that it wasn’t the fact that he hadn’t had sex that made him have that dream last night. 

 

He had always thought that Gary was adorable but now his heart skipped a beat when he thought that. Was he in love with Gary? They had become good friends since Gary had moved in with him, but love? How could that have happened?

 

Cameron lifted his head from his desk and rubbed his forehead. He was so screwed.

 

*****

 

Weeks went by and Cameron’s feelings for Gary became abundantly clear. He was in love with Gary. He didn’t know how it had happened, but it had.

 

There was nothing he could do about it though. The only person Gary had ever shown any interest in had been Anna, and Anna had been more like him.

 

It was better this way. He would get over it. He had to. He couldn’t be with Gary. He wouldn’t ruin their friendship over this. 

 

It wasn’t like Gary had any interest in him as more than a friend anyway. 

 

He would get over it. 

 

He would.

 

*****

He would have done the same for any member of the team. He really would have. He wanted to keep them all safe, but more than anything he wanted to make sure no harm came to Gary. Ever.

 

He didn’t have to think about anything. His skill kicked in on its own as did his protective instinct. 

 

He jumped in front of Gary taking the knife that was meant for him. With his skill he made sure that the knife hit him where it wouldn’t be fatal, but it was a nasty knife so it was a nasty cut.

 

He heard Gary calling his name as he fell to the pavement. He hit his head and then there was nothing.

 

***

 

He let out a groan and heard people saying his name. He blinked a few times before fully opening his eyes. He was in a hospital bed and his team was surrounding him. All except Gary. He was off to the side on his own. 

 

He let the team fuss over him and then feigned sleep. Everyone in the room left except for Dr. Rosen and Gary. He opened his eyes enough so he could wink at Gary. 

 

“Dr. Rosen, I’m thirsty.”

 

“Okay, you stay here Gary and I’ll go get something. Stay in this room with Cameron.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Dr. Rosen left and Gary walked up to his bed. “You’re not really sleeping.”

 

“I wanted to get you alone in the room. Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine, Hicks. You made sure the knife didn’t get me.”

 

“I didn’t want to see you get hurt.”

 

“But now you’re hurt.”

 

“It’s nothing, Gary. I’ll be fine.”

 

“You took a knife for me.”

 

“Yes I did.”

 

He didn’t know how long Dr. Rosen was going to be gone and he didn’t know if Gary would even do it, but he wanted even just the tiniest bit of comfort from him. He laid his hand out palm up for Gary to take. “Gary.”

 

Gary looked down when Cameron wiggled his fingers. He sat down in the chair next to his bed and took Cameron’s hand. 

 

Cameron smiled at him. “Thanks, Gary.”

 

“For taking your hand?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Cameron had tried so hard to get over Gary. Nothing had worked though. He was hopelessly in love with Gary and he didn’t know what to do about it.

 

Dr. Rosen walked back into the room and took in Gary and Cameron’s linked hands with surprise. 

 

“I thought you were asleep.”

 

Cameron shrugged and then winced in pain. “It was just a little too much attention for my liking.”

 

“You knew Gary would stay in the room.”

 

“I had hoped he would.”

 

“And Gary knew you were awake. That’s why he sent me for a drink.”

 

“Sorry, Dr. Rosen.”

 

Cameron knew that Dr. Rosen wasn’t upset though. He seemed impressed, whether by their friendship or Gary’s deception, he wasn’t sure. Probably both. Though Dr. Rosen must have suspected that they had gotten close enough for Gary to accept his touch once in a while. Or maybe that hadn’t crossed Dr. Rosen’s mind. He didn’t think that was likely though.

 

Dr. Rosen handed Gary his drink. “Well I’ll go ahead and leave you two alone then. I won’t be far if you need me.”

 

“Thanks, Doc.”

 

Gary set his drink down so that he had a hand free to watch something or lookup something. 

 

“What are you watching?”

 

“I’m looking up knife wounds.”

 

“Gary, why are you doing that?”

 

“I just want to make sure that you’re going to be okay.”

 

“Gary, put that away and look at me.”

 

Gary did so, but reluctantly. 

 

“Listen to me. You know what my skill is. I made sure that the knife landed somewhere where it wouldn’t be fatal, okay? Even if you don’t trust me you trust my skill, right?”

 

“I trust you.”

 

Cameron gave Gary’s hand a squeeze and bit back a smile. “Good. Then please believe me when I tell you that I’m going to be fine. I made sure of that before I took the knife.”

 

“If you couldn’t be sure of that, would you still have taken the knife for me?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Gary nodded and went back to hopefully not looking up knife wounds but doing something else. He kept his hand linked with Cameron’s.

 

They weren’t disturbed for a least a few hours, not by anyone who wasn’t a nurse or doctor, and Cameron wondered if Dr. Rosen was keeping everyone away for them. He was going to be let out later since his wounds weren’t really that bad. He would heal better at home with just Gary.

 

Except it probably wouldn’t be just Gary. Someone else was going to have to come over to take care of their meals for them. At least for a day. Cameron could take over again after that. He was teaching Gary to cook but he wasn’t sure Gary was ready to make meals on his own yet. 

 

He really wasn’t that bad off. It could have been so much worse.

 

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

 

Cameron was roused from his thoughts by Gary. Gary had paused whatever he had been doing and was watching Cameron.

 

“Will you stay?” Cameron asked, wondering if Gary would catch the pleading tone in his voice, or if he would figure it out in some other way.

 

Gary was looking him in the eye like he was trying desperately to figure out what was going through Cameron’s head. Cameron didn’t break Gary’s gaze. Finally, Gary answered him. “I’ll stay.”

 

Cameron smiled and closed his eyes. He didn’t think that Gary’s feelings towards him had changed, but now he wondered if Gary had somehow picked up on how Cameron felt about him, or if someone in the office had picked up on it and told Gary. No, if Gary knew it was because he had figured it out. Anyone in the office would have confronted Cameron about his feelings. 

 

What if Gary developed feelings for him? Cameron had never entertained that thought. He had thought it was fruitless. But what if it wasn’t?


	2. Chapter 2

Cameron had gone to the flower shop last night to avoid the mad rush today. He had wanted to buy flowers for both Rachel and Nina. Gary hadn’t been thrilled, but Cameron had assured him that there were no bugs in them and that they were clean. Gary didn’t understand why Cameron bought flowers for the girls when they were just his friends. Cameron had explained to Gary that he just wanted to be nice and that the girls deserved something pretty, but Gary had gotten lost in his own thoughts. 

 

Now Gary carried one of the vases to the car for Cameron. He noticed that Gary seemed to be looking at the flowers almost longingly. Was it possible that Gary had wanted flowers for Valentine’s Day too? Had something in their conversation last night led to that? If Cameron had known he would have happily gotten some for Gary as well.

 

Throughout the morning he noticed Gary passing by Nina and Rachel’s offices and eyeing the flowers. He really didn’t want to brave the flower shop today, but maybe they could stop for some on the way home. Or maybe he could buy some for Gary after the holiday. 

 

It would be easy enough to get the group to believe that Gary had wanted flowers and that Cameron was just indulging him. That was basically what it was anyway. Nobody needed to know that it was anything more than that. They expected him to indulge Gary anyway. He did it more than anyone else did.

 

Dr. Rosen took the team out for lunch. He had made the reservations a while ago, even though most people preferred to go out for dinner on Valentine’s Day. Better safe than sorry.

 

He was sitting next to Gary because Gary had chosen to sit next to him. It was a more common occurrence these days. Ever since Cameron had taken a knife for him, Gary had shown more of an interest in him. In fact, Cameron was sure that Gary had developed feelings for him. It wasn’t just Gary sitting next to him whenever he could but it was the way Gary acted around him. He had gotten a bit shy around Cameron and sometimes even a bit giggly. He was acting like a schoolboy with a crush, and Cameron found it endearing.

 

He hadn’t done anything about it though and he wasn’t sure if he should. He was going to have to sit down and have a talk with Gary about it. They needed to figure out things together.

 

The whole team was going to have an opinion and try and convince Gary of whatever they thought was right for the two of them. Poor Gary. He would try to listen to all of them and then he was going to just get frustrated about the whole thing. He was going to have to talk to Gary about that too.

 

There was a man walking around the restaurant selling single red roses. The only way it could have been better was if the man was selling full bouquets. Cameron flagged the man down and bought a rose. He handed it to Gary and Gary’s face lit up immediately. Cameron smiled and ignored the fact that all eyes were on him.

 

“Is this a flower because we’re friends?”

 

“Yes, Gary. And I saw the way you were looking at the flowers I bought for Nina and Rachel. You should have told me last night that you wanted flowers.”

 

“Does this mean that I deserve pretty things too?”

 

Cameron laughed. “Yes it does, Gary. Yes it does.”

 

Gary smiled at him and patted his shoulder. “Thanks, Hicks.”

 

Cameron took a quick glance around the table to see how everyone was taking this. Everyone at the table, except for Bill, who was smirking, was looking at him disapprovingly. That didn’t surprise him.

 

Dr. Rosen pulled him aside after lunch. Cameron had been expecting that.

 

“Can I help you, Doc?”

 

“I’m going to be frank, Cameron. I’ve noticed lately that Gary seems to have developed feelings for you.”

 

“I’ve noticed that too.”

 

“Then why would you buy a flower for him? You can’t toy with Gary’s emotions like that. It might seem like a simple, friendly gesture to you, but you’re just encouraging Gary’s feelings for you.”

 

Cameron didn’t say anything. What could he say? He wanted to encourage Gary’s feelings for him. After trying to deny his feelings for Gary for so long, after thinking that it wasn’t even a possibility, he had hope. Nobody was going to understand that, not even Dr. Rosen.

 

“I see,” Dr. Rosen said after a few minutes of silence. Cameron waited for Dr. Rosen to tell him that he was sick for wanting to be with Gary and that he was going to kick Cameron off of the team. He wouldn’t necessarily come out and tell Cameron that he was sick, but he could certainly imply it. 

 

Cameron had long gotten past any bad thoughts he had about his feelings for Gary. Gary was highly intelligent and had proven he could be independent. He was a bit young, but it wasn’t as if there weren’t relationships out there with large age gaps. 

 

“You do realize what kind of relationship you would be getting yourself into with Gary, right?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You’re well aware that Gary doesn’t like to be touched. I know there is some minimal touching between the two of you, but what if he never comes to fully accept your touch?”

 

Cameron shrugged. “I’ll deal with it.”

 

“And have you considered what kind of sexual relationship you would have with him or if the two of you would even have one?”

 

Cameron sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He hadn’t expected his conversation with Dr. Rosen to go in this direction. He had expected Dr. Rosen to try and forbid him from forming a romantic relationship with Gary, or worse. Though this could also very well be Dr. Rosen’s method of discouraging Cameron from trying anything.

 

“Doc, I promise you I’ve thought about it all. Anything you can come up with I’ve already thought through multiple times.”

 

“And you’re prepared to live the kind of life you would need to live if you were to pursue this?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Dr. Rosen frowned at him. “You’ll wind up hurting him.”

 

“I wasn’t really expecting you to be on board with this, but thanks for the vote of confidence. You don’t have to worry about me hurting him though. It’s him hurting me that I’m worried about.”

 

“How so?”

 

It had become one of his greatest fears since Gary had shown an interest in him. He hated to think about it and he didn’t know why he should bother telling Dr. Rosen about it. He obviously wasn’t okay with Cameron trying to start a relationship with Gary.

 

“Cameron?”

 

Cameron huffed but told Dr. Rosen what he meant. “What happens when he finds somebody more like him and they become good friends? What happens when he finds someone who understands him? Because no matter how understanding I am and no matter how hard I try, I’m still never going to understand where he’s coming from. I won’t ever be able to understand him fully. He’ll probably become frustrated with me at some point. Probably more than once. He’ll leave me one day.”

 

Dr. Rosen’s face softened. Maybe he would be a bit more agreeable now, now that he realized how serious Cameron was about this.

 

“He’s very fond of you.”

 

“I know. And I’m very fond of him.”

 

“Yes you are. You know his mother isn’t going to approve of this.”

 

Cameron chuckled. “Oh, I know. It’s not really her choice though, is it? He got out from under her thumb long ago.”

 

“You’re quite right, of course, but she is not going to be easy to deal with.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I’d like to talk to Gary. I want to talk to him about what he wants and what he expects.”

 

“I was planning on having that conversation with him myself.”

 

Dr. Rosen seemed surprised by that.

 

“You really don’t trust me with him at all, do you.”

 

“I’m not sure I trust anyone with him.”

 

“That’s not going to stop me. If he wants this and I want this then we have every right to try.”

 

“I know.”

 

“Doc, I’m very serious about this.”

 

Dr. Rosen sighed. “I know. I can see that. I’m just not sure that you’re good for him.”

 

“You don’t think I’m good for him? I treat him better than anyone on this team does and you can’t deny that, Doc.”

 

Dr. Rosen opened his mouth to say something but then seemed to think better of it.

 

“See, I’m right. And I bet Gary’s recognized that. Although after that, I honestly don’t know why he’s become so fond of me. I’m not anything special. I’m nothing to write home about.”

 

“Don’t sell yourself short, Cameron. While I might not think you’re the best person for him, you have become a better person since you joined this team. You must know that.”

 

Cameron shook his head. “I don’t know. Sometimes I think that’s true but most of the time I just don’t see it.”

 

“Your son has seen it. The two of you are on good terms now, right?”

 

“We’re not on great terms but we are better than we used to be.”

 

“Then how can you think that you haven’t changed? I don’t think you would be on even a little better terms with Tyler now if you hadn’t.”

 

“Now I feel like you’re actually giving me permission to start a relationship with Gary, and I don’t think that was your intention.”

 

Dr. Rosen sighed. “You need to be careful. We know how intelligent Gary is but other people will see it differently. Other people won’t be as accepting.”

 

“Considering that you aren’t really that accepting, but yes, I know what you mean. People will see it like I’m dating a child or something. I know. I’ve thought of that too.”

 

“I must admit, Cameron, I’m amazed by how much thought you’ve put into this relationship.”

 

“Probably more than most people would. I tried to convince myself that I didn’t have feelings for him and then I tried to get over my feelings for him. None of it worked. I’m kind of already a little too far gone.”

 

“Cameron, would you be opposed to setting up a couple’s session for you and Gary along with your solo sessions?”

 

Cameron grinned at him. “I actually happen to think that it’s a really good idea.”

 

“Then I think we’re done here. For now. I will be keeping a close eye on this though. I don’t think I have to tell you to tread carefully with Gary.”

 

“I think I’ve already proved that that’s something you don’t have to worry about.”

 

Cameron hurried out of Dr. Rosen’s office and to his own. He collapsed onto his couch, leaning back and closing his eyes. He wondered how he and Gary were actually going to go about going from friends to something more. He wondered how he was even going to start a conversation about this with Gary. He knew it was probably something they should do at home though. Away from prying eyes. And ears.

 

He heard footsteps approach his office and opened his eyes. Gary walked up to his door and hovered there. “Rachel told me that guys don’t usually give their guy friends flowers.”

 

“They usually don’t, but they can.”

 

“So it was just a flower as a friend? Rachel thought it might be something more.”

 

Cameron sighed. He didn’t want to do this here but he didn’t want to tell Gary that he didn’t want to do this here. If Gary brought it up then they should talk about it now. 

 

He dragged himself off the couch and ushered Gary into his office. He closed the door behind him and then steered Gary towards the couch. After Gary sat down Cameron joined, but he turned so that he was facing Gary.

 

“Gary, did you want the flower to be something more than just a friendship flower?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“It wasn’t just a flower as a friend, Gary.”

 

“So you want to do things like hold hands and kiss.”

 

Cameron wanted to chuckle at that statement but he forced himself to hold it back. He didn’t want Gary to think that he was laughing at him.

 

“I do, but I don’t want to do anything that you don’t want to do. I don’t want to push you into anything. But I would like to do those things. I would also like to take you out to dinner and hold you while we’re watching TV on the couch. I know you might not be comfortable with all of those things. I know that some things that I want to do may never happen. We just need to talk about these things.”

 

Gary didn’t say anything to that. He looked like he was concentrating really hard, probably trying to put his feelings and his thoughts into words. Cameron hadn’t meant to say as much as he did. He hadn’t meant to make things more difficult for Gary. He wished could make things easier for Gary.

 

“Gary, are these things that you want to do?”

 

“I don’t know,” Gary answered honestly. “We’re friends. We’re good friends.”

 

“Yes we are. We’re very good friends.”

 

“I like talking to you. You listen to me. You let me keep talking. Everyone else always try to get me to stop talking. You’re nice to me. I like living with you. You don’t bother me and you keep things clean and neat.”

 

Cameron leaned forward. “Gary, we don’t have to rush into anything. We don’t have to hold hands today or tomorrow or even next month if you don’t want to. We don’t have to change anything right now.”

 

“What if I want to?”

 

“Then we can. We’ll do all of this at your pace, Gary.”

 

Gary looked like he wanted to say more but he wasn’t sure what to say, or how to say it. 

 

Cameron rested a hand on Gary’s shoulder. “Hey, easy. We don’t need to figure out everything right now. Just as long as we keep talking to each other. That’s what’s important. If you ever have any questions, all you have to do is ask.”

 

Gary took out his phone. “I have to call my mom. I have to tell her.”

 

“She’s not going to be happy about this. She’s going to try and convince you that it’s a bad idea. The entire team will probably try and convince you of the same thing. Except for maybe Bill.”

 

“Is this a secret? Can I not tell my mom?”

 

“No, Gary. Not a secret. Never a secret. I know you want to tell her. I just want to make sure you know that she’s not going to like it and that she’s probably going to try and talk you out of it.”

 

“Okay.” Gary got up and walked out of his office, cell phone pressed to his ear. Cameron followed him out, but headed in the direction of Rachel’s office, where no doubt everyone had been using Rachel to find out what he and Gary had been talking about.

 

Sure enough, the group was standing there waiting for him, not caring that he knew they had been listening in on something that was private.

 

Cameron leaned against the door frame, arms crossed across his chest. “Okay. Let’s hear it.”

 

Nina was the first one to speak up. “Don’t you care about Gary’s feelings at all? You’re just going to break his heart. And what about your son? Have you thought about any of that?”

 

That was really rich coming from someone who pushed people to get what she wanted. She was the most selfish in the group. He didn’t say anything though. He would be the bigger man.

 

Rachel spoke up next. “Cameron, I don’t think this is a good idea. This is Gary we’re talking about.”

 

Not mean. Just concerned. It was exactly what he expected from her. That was Rachel’s style.

 

“Okay. So I’ve heard from both ladies and I’ve already talked to the Doc. That just leaves you, Bill. What do you have to say about all of this?”

 

Bill pointed a finger at Cameron. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you. If Gary is _ever_ unhappy I will make sure you live to regret it. Understand?”

 

Cameron chuckled and moved into the office to clap a hand down on Bill’s shoulder. “You don’t have to worry. I can promise you that.”

 

“Cameron, why don’t you see if you can convince Gary to leave early.” This from Dr. Rosen.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. I think it might be good for the two of you to get away and maybe continue your conversation.”

 

Gary was walking towards all of them now. Hopefully things with his mother hadn’t gone too badly.

 

“Gary, how do you feel about getting out of here early today?”

 

“Can we go somewhere?”

 

“Where do you want to go?”

 

“I don’t know. I just want to go somewhere.”

 

“How about we go spend some time in Central Park?”

 

“Bill. Bill, you and your wife should come with us.”

 

Cameron chuckled. That had come out of nowhere. 

 

Bill raised an eyebrow and looked at Cameron. Cameron shrugged. If Gary wanted Bill to come along, then Bill could come along.

 

Bill turned his attention to Dr. Rosen. “Doc?”

 

Dr. Rosen waved his arms at everyone. “All of you go home. Enjoy the rest of your day. I want you all back here and ready to work tomorrow though.”

 

He and Gary made plans to meet Bill and his wife at Central Park and then he led Gary out of the office.

 

“So what did your mom say?”

 

“She said a lot of bad words that I’m not allowed to say.”

 

Cameron laughed. “Gary, you don’t live with her anymore. If you want to say those words then you can. What else did she say?”

 

“She wants to talk to you.”

 

“Of course she does. Did she say when?”

 

“No. She was really angry. She said a lot more bad words and then hung up.”

 

Cameron groaned. That did not bode well for him. He hadn’t expected things with Sandra to be easy, but he thought, or rather hoped, that maybe things would be a bit better considering how well things had been going with Gary living with him and how well he and Gary got along. 

 

He kind of hoped that Gary hadn’t told her that he spent his nights in Cameron’s bed. It was just to sleep but she probably wouldn’t approve of that, especially with the way things had turned out. She would probably try and use that against him somehow, like he was some kind of sick freak or something.

 

Cameron hoped he would be able to convince Sandra that he and Gary were good together and that he truly loved her son.

 

“Are you going to say bad things to my mom?”

 

“No. I’ll be nice to her even though she’s not going to be nice to me.”

 

“You don’t know that. She might be nice to you.”

 

“Gary, your mother loves you and wants what’s best for you. She doesn’t think that that’s me. So no, she’s not going to be nice to me. If she is, it’s only because you’re nearby and can hear us. She’ll always pretend to like me in front of you, despite what she might have said on the phone to you earlier.”

 

Gary stayed silent and Cameron left him alone. Gary’s mother was probably always going to be a sore spot between them. He hoped he was wrong about that. He wanted to get along with Sandra for Gary’s sake. 

 

He drove them out to Central Park so they had time to get to the spot where they were going to meet Bill and his wife and have a couple of minutes to themselves.

 

He knew Bill and Gary had become buddies and that even though Gary sometimes still annoyed Bill, Bill was usually amused by his antics and was also very protective of him.

 

The park was crowded but not overly so. He hoped it wouldn’t be enough to bother Gary. He knew Gary didn’t do well in crowds and he didn’t want Gary to be agitated during their first outing as a couple. He guessed that’s what they were now. If they stayed out of the park’s many attractions then they would probably be okay.

 

Cameron led Gary over to a bench where they sat and waited for Bill and his wife. While they waited, Gary watched whatever it was he watched and Cameron watched Gary. It was something he had been doing a lot of recently, mostly while they were at home. He didn’t know if Gary was aware of it, but if he was then he didn’t seem to mind. He hadn’t said anything anyway. It would be nice if Gary wasn’t bothered by it.

 

He was so enraptured with watching Gary that he didn’t even notice that Bill had shown up until Bill cleared his throat. Cameron shot off the bench and rubbed the back of his head, glad that he wasn’t one to blush easily.

 

“Bill.”

 

Bill smirked. “Cameron. This is my wife, Jeannie. Jeannie, this is Cameron and that’s Gary.” Bill pointed to a still sitting Gary. He wasn’t even sure if Gary realized that Bill had shown up.

 

“Gary, don’t you want to meet Bill’s wife?”

 

Gary put away whatever he was doing and stood up and walked over to them.

 

“Gary, this is my wife, Jeannie.”

 

“Hi, Gary.”

 

“Hi.”

 

Cameron and Bill exchanged amused glances. Gary was playing with his jacket and not looking at Jeannie. Jeannie smiled at him and then linked her arm with Bill’s. 

 

They started walking. He and Gary kept bumping against each other, their hands brushing together. Deciding to risk Gary’s rebuff, Cameron linked his fingers through Gary’s. Gary tightened his grip on Cameron’s hand and Cameron smiled.

 

He and Bill kept a conversation going, Jeannie chiming in every so often. Gary was lost in his own little world. It was a nice day out and Cameron found himself really enjoying something as simple as holding hands with Gary and walking through the park. They were going to have to make time to do more things like this.

 

They were heading towards a heavily populated area that was noisy. He could feel Gary stiffen next to him.

 

“Okay, I think it’s time we turned around and headed back,” Cameron announced. He felt Gary relax and he knew that Bill and Jeannie would understand.

 

They turned around and headed back in the direction they had come from. When they made it back to where they had started, Jeannie turned to him and Gary. “Would the two of you like to join us for dinner tonight? I’m sure we can change the reservation.”

 

“We can’t tonight,” Cameron answered for the both of them. “It’ll be way too crowded.”

 

Jeannie nodded. “Right. Of course. Maybe this weekend then?”

 

“What do you say, Gary? Do you want to have dinner with Bill and Jeannie this weekend?”

 

“Okay.”

 

Cameron shook Bill’s hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow and I guess we’ll see the both of you this weekend.”

 

“Enjoy your night you two,” Bill smirked.

 

Cameron shook his head. “You ready to go home or do you want to stay around for a while?”

 

“Can we go home now?”

 

“Definitely.” Cameron was already thinking of ways he could make their dinner tonight more romantic. He had candles he could use and he could make a nice chicken and pasta dish for them.

 

He still wished he could buy Gary some flowers. He was going to have to buy Gary some flowers some other day soon. Tonight he would just make sure they had a nice evening at home.

 

It was still early when they got home so Cameron settled on the couch and Gary sat next to him and put something on for the both of them to watch. He wanted to put his arm around Gary but he had promised Gary that would take things at his pace and Cameron wasn’t going to go back on that. He just wanted Gary to be happy. 

 

“Hicks, I liked holding your hand.” 

 

“Good. I’m glad. But you should call me Cameron if we’re in a relationship now.”

 

“Does this mean you’re my boyfriend now?”

 

Cameron smiled. “Yeah. I guess it does.”

 

Gary smiled and looked away from him, not that he had really been looking at Cameron in the first place. Every so often Gary actually did look him in the eye, but it was rare and it never lasted for long. Cameron wondered if Gary would start trying to look him in the eye more often now. 

 

When it was finally close to dinner time, Cameron got up to start cooking for the two of them. He didn’t have any alcohol but he put their water in wine glasses. He found the candles and set them on the table, lighting them before returning to their food.

 

Gary joined him in the kitchen just before Cameron had finished. “Why are there candles on the table?”

 

“It’s Valentine’s Day and we just became a couple. I thought we’d make dinner a little nicer tonight. Is that okay?”

 

Gary didn’t answer him and when Cameron turned around he saw Gary smiling. Cameron smiled in response and finished with their food. He made them up plates and set them down on the table. 

 

“Is this something we’re going to do all the time now?”

 

“No. Just every once in a while. If we do it all the time then it won’t be special anymore.”

 

“This is nice. I like this.”

 

“I’m glad, Gary.”

 

So far there hadn’t been anything that Gary didn’t like and Cameron really loved the fact that Gary was telling him that he liked these things. Their relationship would be so much easier for him to navigate if Gary continued to do that. Maybe he should let Gary know that.

 

“Gary, I like that you keep telling me when you like things. You should also tell me if there is something that you don’t like. It’ll make it easier for me to know what is going to make you uncomfortable or not.”

 

“Okay. I can do that.”

 

In bed that night it was the usual. Gary was on his side of bed and Cameron was on his side of the bed. 

 

“Cameron, if you’re my boyfriend now, should I be on the same side of the bed with you?”

 

“You shouldn’t be in bed with me at all, actually.”

 

“Do you want me gone?”

 

“Absolutely not. I just want you to know that you can do whatever you’re comfortable with. If you want to join me on this side of the bed and curl up next to me then that’s fine. If not then you can stay on your side of the bed. It’s okay with me.”

 

“I think I’ll stay here for now then.”

 

“That’s fine. I didn’t think you were ready for me to hold you all night. You might not ever be and that’s okay too.”

 

“I like when you touch me though.”

 

“I don’t touch you for long though. I think it would probably bother you if I touched you for longer than I have been.”

 

“Can we try?”

 

“Right now?”

 

“No.”

 

“We can try whenever you want, Gary.”

 

“Goodnight, Cameron.”

 

“Goodnight, Gary.”

 

Gary fell asleep easily but Cameron was awake for longer than that, his mind buzzing with thoughts of everything that had happened today and everything that was going to happen in their future.

 

He still hadn’t really processed what had happened today. He had gone from hoping for a relationship with Gary to actually being in one with him. At the same time the entire team had found out and the only one who supported them was Bill. 

 

For a while now he had imagined what it would be like to be in a relationship with Gary. He hadn’t been lying to Dr. Rosen. He really had thought about all the difficulties that they could possibly face. Obviously Cameron hoped they could get through all of that and that he and Gary would be cuddling and having sex at some point. 

 

He was okay if that wasn’t the case, but it would be nice. Gary had just admitted to liking when Cameron touched him and Cameron felt that that was a step in the right direction right there. 

 

He watched Gary as he slept. They could make this work. They _would_ make this work.

 

*****

Bill and Jeannie were sitting across the table from them. It was Friday night, just days after Valentine’s Day, and they were on their planned double date. The remainder of his week at work had been filled with looks from everyone on the team except Bill. And of course Gary. 

 

Gary had seemed oblivious to it all and Cameron was glad for that. Any hate that anybody might send their way should be directed at him and not Gary. Gary shouldn’t have anything to do with it, but he knew that wasn’t going to be possible. He knew that Gary was going to encounter problems with Nina and Sandra and possibly even Dr. Rosen. 

 

Cameron was going to pretend that none of that existed right now. He had a menu in his hand, friends across the table from him, and his boyfriend sitting next to him. Sort of. Gary was currently pressed against the wall like he wanted to be as far away from Cameron as possible. Cameron wasn’t bothered or worried by it. Gary had his good days and Gary had his bad days. It was just something that Cameron was going to have to get used to. He would never dream of forcing closeness onto Gary.

 

After they had ordered their food, conversation began flowing. They avoided the subject of work, instead talking about what else they had done during the week and what their plans were for the weekend. He and Gary were planning on another quiet weekend at home. It sounded like Bill and Jeannie were planning on the same. 

 

As they were talking, Bill put his arm around Jeannie. As conversation continued Gary scooted closer and closer to Cameron. He had a feeling that Gary was going to either mimic Bill or have Cameron mimic Bill. Despite their talk on Valentine’s Day, he and Gary hadn’t tried touching for an extended period of time yet.

 

Soon Gary was pressed against Cameron’s side. He was tense at first, but after a few minutes he relaxed. Cameron was still holding a conversation with Bill and Jeannie but he knew that all three of them were more focused on Gary than anything else. 

 

After a few more minutes Gary took Cameron’s arm and put it around his shoulders. Cameron rested his hand on Gary’s shoulder and gave him a little squeeze. He didn’t say anything, but he and Bill shared a look, and possibly a small smile as well.

 

Gary relaxed against him and stayed like that until their food arrived. He pulled his arm from around Gary but leaned in so he could whisper to him. “Was that okay, Gary?”

 

“Yeah. That was nice, Cameron.” Gary wasn’t as quiet as Cameron had been so Bill and Jeannie both heard that, but since that was already something that Cameron was used to it didn’t bother him at all.

 

They didn’t really talk much as they ate, especially Gary. He focused on his food. More than once Cameron found himself watching Gary instead of eating his own food. He couldn’t help it. He loved watching Gary and now he was free to do it. Bill didn’t even comment on it, which was actually sort of surprising.

 

Cameron was really enjoying himself. It had been too long since he had gone out for a meal with a significant other, and even with friends. Other than the work outings, which didn’t really count, even though he did work with both Bill and Gary. This was different. This was nice. He would be happy to double date with Bill and Jeannie again. 

 

Next time he wanted to get Gary for dinner alone though. He knew most of the team cringed at the thought of going out to restaurants with Gary, but like Bill, Cameron usually just laughed. He wanted to take Gary on a date. He wanted to spend time alone with him at a restaurant. He even wanted to spend time with him at some of the nicer restaurants. 

 

Something else he hadn’t lied to Dr. Rosen about was how far gone he was when it came to Gary. He was completely head over heels in love with Gary. He still had no idea how that had happened. He felt like it had happened so quickly, but Gary had been living with him for months. It must have been building that entire time and he hadn’t even realized it. It had taken a naughty dream about Gary to knock some sense into him. He was surprised that the team hadn’t noticed. If he hadn’t been aware of his feelings, then he couldn’t have been hiding them well.

 

He couldn’t resist reaching out to touch Gary. It wasn’t much. All he did was give Gary’s shoulder a squeeze. Gary smiled but didn’t look at him. He moved his hand to the back of Gary’s neck. This time Gary looked at him. He was still smiling. It was impossible not to smile back. Across the table Bill cleared his throat. 

 

Cameron tore himself away from Gary and tried to focus on eating instead. He was being ridiculous. He was acting like he had when he was younger and had a crush or was on a first date with a girl. This was Gary. He had worked by Gary’s side for years now. He had been living with Gary for months and they had been sleeping in the same bed. 

 

Cameron sighed and worked on eating his food. Even Gary was already done with his food. He scooted closer to Cameron so that they were touching. Gary rested his hand on Cameron’s leg. Cameron smiled and found that he could actually eat his dinner now without losing focus. 

 

Bill insisted on paying for the four of them, no matter how much Cameron protested. He thanked Bill for dinner, and so did Gary.

 

“We should do this again, Gary. What do you think?” Bill asked. 

 

“Yes. Bill, we should do this again.”

 

They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. In bed that night Gary slid closer to Cameron’s side. Cameron was on his side, facing Gary. He didn’t move. 

 

“Gary, I’d like to take you to dinner next weekend. Just the two of us.”

 

Gary smiled. “Okay.”

 

“You can pick the restaurant that we go to.”

 

“Any restaurant I want?”

 

“Yep.”

 

Gary moved even closer to him and Cameron kept as still as he could. Gary stopped when there was still a little more than a few inches between the two of them. Cameron could feel the heat coming off of Gary. He wished he could pull Gary into his arms. He needed to stop thinking like that though. He was just going to have to take whatever Gary was willing to give and he would be happy with it. Because even if Gary only gave Cameron a little, it was still better than not having Gary at all.


	3. Chapter 3

Being in a relationship with Gary really wasn’t much different from being friends with him. At least to the casual observer. Most people would have never noticed a difference in their relationship at all. Those who know Gary could see the difference.

 

There were days when Gary would randomly show up in his office and sit on his couch. He wouldn’t say a word but he would do his work while Cameron did his own at his desk. Gary actually wanted to spend time close to Cameron. Cameron enjoyed these days. It didn’t matter that Gary lived with him. It was nice having Gary close to him at work too.

 

There was no set amount of time that Gary would stay with him. For someone who was so structured, he was very unpredictable when it came to showing up in Cameron’s office. Cameron never knew when he was going to show up or how long Gary was going to stay. Cameron liked that though. It was nice when Gary randomly showed up, especially if he was having a bad day.

 

Gary usually seemed to sense when he was having a bad day too. Cameron noticed that Gary would stay with him longer on those days. Sometimes on those bad days Cameron would join Gary on the couch, just to be closer to him. Cameron would rest his head on the back of the couch and Gary would scoot closer to him so that they were touching. He knew that it was comforting to Cameron when the two of them touched. 

 

Gary chose that moment to walk into his office. Just like all the other times Gary visited him, he took a seat on Cameron’s couch. The only reason that he knew Gary was working was because of the way that his hands were moving, flipping through various websites, cameras, and whatever else it was that Gary had access to. 

 

Actually, he didn’t know that Gary was working. Gary could be flipping through TV channels for all he knew. Not that they really had much going on right now anyway so if Gary wanted to watch TV then why shouldn’t he?

 

Cameron ignored what he was working on in favor of watching Gary. If Gary knew he was being watched he didn’t show it. He just kept working on whatever it was he was doing. 

 

Cameron was pretty sure that Gary knew he was being watched. Cameron did it often enough that Gary had to have noticed by now. If it had been anyone else, Gary probably would have had a problem. Cameron was able to get away with a lot more when it came to Gary.

 

Cameron was so focused on watching Gary that he lost track of time. It wasn’t the first time and it probably wouldn’t be the last time.

 

“Cameron, it’s time for lunch.”

 

Cameron shook himself from his thoughts and smiled at Gary. “Yes it is. Let’s go have lunch.”

 

Cameron followed Gary into their break room. This was another new thing. He remembered so clearly when Gary had approached him about their lunch habits. 

 

_“Cameron, if we’re in a relationship now does that mean we eat lunch together?”_

_“Do you want to?”_

_“I think we should, since we’re in a relationship.”_

_Cameron smiled at him. “We can do that, Gary. We can do that.”_

 

They had eaten lunch together every day since then, and every time they did, Cameron remembered that first time, when Gary had asked him. 

 

The rest of the team usually left them alone when they were having lunch. Sometimes Bill would join them. Today was one of those days. He sat across from Cameron and Gary, teasing Gary. Gary gave as good as he got though. Cameron was rubbing off on him. 

 

Cameron just sat back and watched Gary and Bill interact. It was always entertaining to watch the two of them.

 

“Cameron,” Rachel said, coming into the break room. “Thank you for the flowers.” She walked up behind Cameron and hugged him.

 

“No. You’re not allowed to touch him. Only I can touch him.” Gary was standing next to him and practically glaring at Rachel.

 

Bill chuckled as Rachel hurriedly pulled away from Cameron. “Sorry, Gary. I just wanted to thank Cameron for the flowers.”

 

Rachel had been feeling down so Cameron had stopped and picked up flowers for her. He had picked up a bouquet for Gary as well. He had also asked Gary if he was okay with it before he had picked up the flowers. Apparently flowers were okay but touching wasn’t.

 

“Gary, you know all she wanted to do was hug me.”

 

“She’s not allowed to touch you. I’m the only one who can touch you.”

 

Cameron opened his mouth to argue with Gary, but he shook his head and closed it, a little chuckle escaping before he did.

 

“What?” Gary asked.

 

“It’s nothing, Gary. There’s nothing wrong.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“Promise.”

 

Gary went to clean up his mess and Bill leaned close to him. “I think somebody likes possessive Gary,” Bill teased.

 

“Shut up,” Cameron retorted. Bill laughed and walked out of the break room leaving him alone with Gary.

 

So maybe he did think that Gary’s possessiveness was kind of cute. It wasn’t often that Cameron didn’t find something that Gary did was cute. 

 

He got up and walked over to Gary, resting his hands on Gary’s shoulders. He gave Gary a squeeze and then removed his hands so he could walk away. He was about to turn around when Gary grabbed his hand. He pulled Cameron towards him and then wrapped his arms around him in a hug. Cameron wound his arms around Gary but didn’t hold him too tightly. He didn’t want to make Gary uncomfortable. 

 

The hug lasted longer than Cameron would have expected, and when Gary finally pulled out of it, he smiled at Cameron and then walked off to his office. Cameron crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, smiling. 

 

*****

 

Cameron laughed and choked on the water he was trying to drink. He loved taking Gary out to dinner. Sometimes Cameron thought that maybe Gary did some of his outbursts on purpose just to make Cameron laugh. In fact, Cameron was sure of it. 

 

Gary no longer pulled his badge out at any waitress asking him questions, but waitresses weren’t used the way that Gary ordered and the particular way that things needed to be done. 

 

He had no idea why nobody else, save Bill, liked having dinner with Gary. He always had so much fun when they did this. 

 

And they did it surprisingly often. For all the times that Gary had never really wanted to go out to eat while they were just friends, he loved doing it now. He was really getting into the whole dating aspect of the relationship between having their lunches together and the amount of dinners they went out for. 

 

If they didn’t go out to eat then they cooked together. Gary enjoyed helping him in the kitchen. It seemed to relax him. 

 

Gary was smiling at him. He loved when he made Cameron laugh. Cameron reached a hand across the table and Gary took it in his own. 

 

“Do you want to do anything tomorrow?”

 

“Can we spend some time at the park?”

 

“We can. Do you want to go early in the morning?”

 

“That would be good.”

 

Their food arrived and conversation stopped. They usually ate in silence. Gary was usually too focused on his food, though he sometimes used his ability during dinner. That was one thing Cameron had asked Gary to stop doing while they were out to dinner. He explained to Gary that it would be rude of Cameron to take a phone call during dinner, and Gary using his ability during dinner was the same thing.

 

Gary had felt bad about it and Cameron had spent a good amount of time consoling Gary and telling him that he wasn’t mad or upset or anything. 

 

“Mom wants us to have dinner with her soon.”

 

“We could go tomorrow night, if you want.”

 

Sandra still hated that Cameron was dating her son, but the two of them made an effort for Gary’s sake. Every once in a while they went to her place for dinner. They kept conversation civilized but Sandra was always cold to him. He knew Gary noticed, but Gary wasn’t going to give up.

 

“She’s still trying to get me to break up with you.”

 

Cameron sighed. As much as Sandra didn’t like him she shouldn’t be telling Gary things like that. She was just upsetting him. Not that she would know. Cameron was the one who always had to comfort Gary after a conversation with his mother. She should be happy that her son was happy. And Gary was happy.

 

It put a strain on their relationship and Cameron didn’t know how to fix it. He’d been nothing but good to Gary and she still wouldn’t relent. 

 

“I’m sorry. You’re upset now.”

 

“It’s okay, Gary. I’m fine.”

 

“I didn’t mean to make you upset. I just want us to have a nice dinner.”

 

Cameron took Gary’s hand again. “Relax, Gary. I’m fine. It’s okay. We’re still having a nice dinner, okay?”

 

Gary nodded and Cameron gave Gary’s hand a squeeze before letting it go. He tried to keep a happy face for Gary, but Sandra’s disapproval weighed heavily on him. 

 

It shouldn’t. Gary was old enough to make his own decisions, no matter how hard of a time Sandra was still having with that. 

 

“Cameron.”

 

Cameron looked up and saw Gary watching him. 

 

“I’m sorry, Gary.”

 

“Maybe we should just go home.”

 

“Do you want to take the rest of the food with us?”

 

“I’m not really hungry anymore.”

 

“Same here.”

 

Cameron flagged down the waitress for the check and he and Gary left. 

 

In bed that night, Gary curled up against him and put his arm around Cameron. 

 

“Don’t worry, Gary. Things will work out.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“It might take some time though.”

 

“I know. I just wish everyone would stop telling me you’re a bad person.”

 

“Is Nina giving you a hard time?”

 

“And Dr. Rosen.”

 

“Dr. Rosen?”

 

“He doesn’t say you’re a bad person. He keeps telling me that I need to be careful with you.”

 

“They’re just looking out for you. They want you to be happy and safe.”

 

“I know. I keep telling them that I’m happy and that you’re nice to me and you never do anything that I don’t want to do. They don’t seem to care.”

 

Cameron kissed the top of Gary’s head. “Just try and get some sleep, Gary.”

 

Gary yawned. “Goodnight.” He rolled over and away from Cameron, but not too far.

 

Gary fell asleep but Cameron was up for a long while trying to figure out a solution to his problems. As the minutes passed away and Cameron started drifting off, he was still no closer to an answer.

 

*****

Group lunches had become a regular thing. Cameron had a feeling that it had something do with his relationship with Gary. Bill was still the only one who seemed okay with the situation. Rachel seemed to slowly be coming around too. More and more Cameron found Rachel and Gary having hushed conversations, and Cameron had a feeling it had to do with relationship tips. It was nice that Gary had someone to talk to.

 

Nina bad mouthed Cameron on a daily basis and Dr. Rosen implied that Gary should be with someone else, though he never came out and said the actual words. 

 

Gary wasn’t to be swayed though, and really, that shouldn’t have surprised any of them. Gary could be stubborn and persistent, more so than any of them.

 

Cameron could handle group lunches though. They were all on their best behavior, though they kept their eye on him. At least there weren’t any nasty comments.

 

They were having their typical lunch today. It was a nice lunch and Gary was enjoying himself which was really all that mattered. Cameron was laughing at something Gary had said when he spotted Patti and Tyler.

 

Gary had met Tyler but he hadn’t met Patti yet. And Tyler didn’t exactly know what the relationship was between him and Gary. He still thought that Gary was just staying at his place. In the spare bedroom. 

 

He had kept a lot from Tyler but that was going to have to change soon. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide Gary. He had just been waiting for the right moment to sit down and talk with Tyler. Which of course didn’t excuse all those times that Tyler had been at his place and Cameron hadn’t said anything.

 

The middle of a restaurant while having lunch with his team was definitely not the right time to have this discussion, but Cameron had a feeling that this was where it was going to happen. Gary hadn’t said anything to Tyler about being his dad’s boyfriend, and Cameron was a little surprised by that, but he thought that probably Gary was going to say something to Patti. He could ask Gary not to, but he didn’t want Gary to think that he was trying to keep him a secret. Gary had enough to deal with as it was.

 

Cameron turned his attention back to his meal. He wanted to see Tyler but he really didn’t want to do this here, and not just because they were in a restaurant. He didn’t want to do any of this in front of his team. 

 

Tyler and Patti noticed him though and came over to the table. He hugged Tyler under Gary’s watchful eye. Before Cameron had hugged Tyler for the first time after their relationship had started, Cameron had talked to Gary about it and told him that hugging Tyler would be like Gary hugging his mother and that Tyler was the one person that Cameron still needed to be able to touch. Gary still didn’t like it. He was a tad too possessive, but Cameron wasn’t going to make a thing of it. As long as he didn’t say anything about Cameron touching Tyler they were fine. 

 

“Cameron.”

 

“Patti.”

 

Tyler pulled out of the hug and moved to stand next to his mother again. 

 

“Tyler tells me you’ve been doing a lot better these days.”

 

“I am.”

 

“He wants to spend more time with you.”

 

“I’d love to have him more often.”

 

“We should get together some time and talk.” Patti put a hand on his shoulder and Cameron winced.

 

“No. You’re not allowed to touch him. Only I can touch him.”

 

Cameron smiled as he pulled out from under Patti’s touch. He shouldn’t be enjoying this but he kind of was. 

 

“Excuse me? Who are you to tell me that I can’t touch my ex-husband?”

 

“I’m Gary. I’m his boyfriend.”

 

Patti and Tyler both gaped at him. The rest of the table was silent. Cameron had a sinking suspicion that at least a couple of them were enjoying this way more than they should be.

 

“Dad, you’re dating the retarded guy?”

 

Cameron opened his mouth to remind Tyler that Gary wasn’t retarded. He was pretty sure he had told Tyler that Gary was autistic. Gary beat him to it. “I’m not retarded. I’m autistic. You shouldn’t even be using that word. You shouldn’t be calling people retarded.”

 

“Tyler, I told you that Gary was autistic.”

 

“It doesn’t matter.” This from Patti. “What are you thinking, Cameron? You’re disgusting. I don’t think we’ll be able to work something out so you can see Tyler more often.” She grabbed Tyler’s hand and pulled him away before Cameron could say anything more.

 

Cameron turned back to the table. Bill and Rachel were looking at him sympathetically, but Nina was practically giddy and Dr. Rosen even looked a little smug. Cameron ignored all of them and looked at Gary instead. Gary looked sad and was pushing his food around his plate without interest. 

 

Cameron wanted to bang his head against the table, but he didn’t want the team to know how much everything was bothering him. He was going to have to have a talk with Tyler. He was also going to have to talk to Gary.

 

The day dragged on. Cameron felt sick to his stomach with worry. 

 

He and Gary were quiet at home. They usually weren’t that quiet. Neither of them spoke a word until they were in bed. 

 

“Cameron, do you want to break up?”

 

It would be the easier choice. There was too much working against them, too many people who wanted them to be separated. Neither of them would be happier afterward though. They were happy together, despite the obstacles they faced.

 

“I don’t want to break up with you, Gary. Do you want that?”

 

“No. I like you. I don’t care what anyone else says. They’re wrong.”

 

“But they’re making you sad.”

 

“I just wish they would stop telling me bad things about you. You’re not a bad person. You’re a good person.”

 

“I think they just need more time. I think they’ll come around.”

 

“Patti said you wouldn’t get to see Tyler more.”

 

“I’m going to talk to Tyler first. He shouldn’t have been talking to you that way. I need to sit down and teach him about autism.”

 

Gary scooted closer to him and wrapped his arms around him. He put his arms around Gary and gave him a squeeze.

 

“I’m so sorry, Gary. You shouldn’t have to deal with all of this.” He kissed the top of Gary’s head and kept his arms around him. He hated this. He wanted to protect Gary from all of this.

 

He couldn’t though and Cameron knew this was something they were going to continue facing for as long as they were in a relationship. And Cameron hoped that would be for a long time. 

 

*****

 

It was Friday evening and he and Gary were finally home. It had been an exhausting week, and it had nothing to do with work. He had tried so many times to get in touch with Tyler and to try talking to Patti. He hadn’t had any luck.

 

That’s why he was surprised when they walked up to their door and found Tyler sitting in front of it. 

 

“Tyler?”

 

Tyler stood up. “Hey.”

 

“Does your mom know you’re here?”

 

“No. She wouldn’t let me talk to you and I needed to talk to you. She thinks I’m out with friends. I’m sorry but I had to.”

 

Cameron sighed and unlocked his door. “Fine. Come in. We are going to have to call your mother though.”

 

“I know. I just hope you’ll wait until after we’ve talked.”

 

Gary kept his distance from Tyler. He had clearly been hurt but Tyler’s reaction to their relationship. He hoped Tyler didn’t have any other nasty things to say to Gary.

 

“Okay, everyone sit at the table. We’ll talk there.”

 

He followed Tyler to the table and was trailed by a very reluctant Gary.

 

“I came here to apologize. To both of you. I’ve been doing some research on autism this week. Asked my teachers for help and everything.”

 

“Everyone is different though. You can’t know me through books.”

 

“I know. I want to spend time with the two of you. I want to get to know you better. My dad has been happier since you moved in with him. Now I know why.”

 

“We haven’t been together that long. We’ve only been together since Valentine’s Day.”

 

“So do you both forgive me?”

 

Cameron nodded and rubbed the top of Tyler’s head. “Of course I forgive you. I’m not the one you need to be worried about though.”

 

They both turned towards Gary. “What do you say, Gary? Can we try and be friends?”

 

Gary nodded but didn’t say anything. Tyler’s face fell.

 

“Hey, don’t worry about it. The two of you will be fine. We need to call your mother now.”

 

Tyler nodded. “Fine. Please try and convince her to let me see you more often.”

 

“I would love to. I’ll do what I can.”

 

He left Gary and Tyler at the table and went into the bedroom to call Patti. She answered after a couple of rings.

 

“Cameron, I don’t have time right now.”

 

“Tyler is here.”

 

“What?! What the hell did you do?”

 

“He came here on his own. He wanted to apologize to me and Gary. He wants to be friends with Gary.”

 

“That’s not going to happen.”

 

“Patti, he’s my son too and I want him and Gary to get along.”

 

“I can’t do this right now. I’m coming to pick up Tyler.”

 

She hung up the phone on him. Cameron scrubbed a hand over his face. At least Tyler wanted to make amends. This was all still too much to deal with. 

 

Gary walked into the bedroom. “You don’t look happy. Patti doesn’t want Tyler to spend time with us, does she.”

 

Cameron shook his head. Gary sat down next to him on the bed and hugged him.

 

“Thanks, Gary.”

 

He let Gary hug him for a minute before he gently pushed Gary off of him. “Come on. We should get back out there. Patti will be here soon.”

 

They walked back out to the kitchen where Tyler was waiting patiently. “I take it Mom didn’t take things well.”

 

“Not even a little.”

 

“I’ll see if I can talk to her. I can’t not see you.”

 

“She might actually listen to you.”

 

There was a pounding on the door like Patti was trying to knock the door down. Cameron grimaced but went to open the door. Patti was fuming.

 

“Tyler!”

 

Tyler hurried to the door. “Calm down, Mom. I just wanted to apologize to Dad and Gary and I knew you wouldn’t let me talk to him.”

 

“With good reason.”

 

“Not with good reason. You don’t want me to see my father because he’s dating Gary. What is so wrong with Gary? There’s nothing wrong with Gary.”

 

“We’ll discuss this at home, Tyler.”

 

“Yes we will, Mom.”

 

Cameron pulled Tyler to him. “Easy, Tyler. She is still your mother.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”

 

Tyler nodded and hugged him and then moved over to Gary. Gary opened his arms for Tyler to hug him. Cameron smiled at both of them. He had expected that that would have taken more time than that. It had taken longer for Gary to accept touch from anyone on the team and it had taken months for Gary to willingly hug Cameron. 

 

Tyler let Gary go and followed his mother out. Gary walked up to him and put an arm around him. He was really becoming attuned to Cameron’s needs. He knew when Cameron wanted to be left alone and he knew when Cameron needed the comfort of his touch. Despite Dr. Rosen and Sandra’s protests, they were both impressed and proud. 

 

“If we have to break up so you can see your son it’s okay. I would be sad. I wouldn’t like it. But it would be okay if you got to see your son.”

 

Cameron put his fingers under Gary’s jaw and tilted his head up so that Gary was looking him in the eye. 

 

“We are not breaking up. I will have you and my son. Understand?”

 

Gary nodded and Cameron leaned down to kiss Gary’s cheek. 

 

“Come on. Let’s start dinner.”

 

They worked side by side, moving around the kitchen and each other with ease. Cameron was once again plagued with thoughts of how to handle the people who were trying to destroy his relationship with Gary. He loved Gary though and he wasn’t going to let him go.

 

*****

 

Cameron and Tyler were in front of the TV playing video games. Tyler had managed to convince his mother to let him visit Cameron and Gary. Tyler had even managed to convince Patti to start talking to him. He had told her that Cameron had changed and if she didn’t believe him then she needed to see it herself. Patti had come around after a dinner with the four of them and Tyler had been spending a lot of time with him and Gary.

 

The front door opened and then slammed shut. Gary didn’t stop to say hi to either him or Tyler. He went straight to the bedroom. He and Tyler looked at each other and both got up to follow Gary into the bedroom. Cameron sat on the bed next to Gary while Tyler stayed off to the side. 

 

“Gary? What happened?”

 

Gary ignored him. He had spent the day with Nina and Rachel. There had been talk of romance movies and Gary wanting to learn more about how relationships worked. Cameron had made sure to pull Rachel aside and make sure that she wouldn’t let Gary take anything from the movies too seriously and that he knew what really happened in relationships and what didn’t. Rachel had promised that she would take care of it.

 

Something must have happened with the girls for Gary to be this upset. He placed a hand on Gary’s shoulder but Gary shied away from his touch. “Go away!”

 

Cameron sighed but got up and left the bedroom before Gary could become any more upset with him. Tyler stayed behind. Cameron hoped that Gary wouldn’t yell at him too. Gary was usually pretty good at not yelling at Tyler or snapping at Tyler. He usually stayed calmer around Tyler. 

 

Cameron sat on the couch and waited. Tyler took a lot of time in there with Gary, which hopefully meant that he must have had some luck talking to Gary. That was fantastic. He was really happy that those two were getting along so well, especially after their disastrous first meeting. Well, first meeting when he found out that he and Gary were together. Cameron still hated thinking about what had happened at lunch that day.

 

Finally Tyler came out of the bedroom. “He’s ready to talk to you now.”

 

“What happened? What’s wrong?”

 

Tyler shook his head. “You should really talk to him about it. He’s upset by some things the girls said about you and the relationship the two of you have. I think I’ve managed to convince him that they were just being ridiculous.”

 

Cameron got up and followed Tyler back into the bedroom. Cameron sat back on the bed with Gary, and Tyler stood next to them.

 

“Gary, tell my dad what you told me.”

 

“Nina and Rachel told me that you haven’t kissed me yet because you don’t actually like me in a romantic way. I told them we were taking things slow. That’s what you said. That we were going to take things slow. But they kept saying that you didn’t really like me but that you didn’t want to hurt my feelings and that’s why we’re still in a relationship.”

 

“Gary, if what Nina and Rachel said was true then I wouldn’t let Tyler hang out with you the way that I do. I wouldn’t have let him stay in here to talk to you. If what they said was true then I wouldn’t take you out to dinner all of the time. I would insist on staying home. If I didn’t have feelings for you then I wouldn’t want to be seen with you in public all the time. If I didn’t have feelings for you then I would have let your mother break us up. 

 

I haven’t kissed you yet because I didn’t know you wanted me to kiss you. You have to tell me what you want, Gary. I never want you to feel like I’ve pushed you to do something that you don’t want to do. I never want you to feel uncomfortable.”

 

“I want you to kiss me.”

 

“And I will. But not now. I don’t want to kiss you because Nina and Rachel couldn’t mind their own business.”

 

“Do you want to kiss me?”

 

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time, Gary.” He cupped Gary’s face with his hands. “You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you.”

 

“Okay.” Gary smiled at him, seemingly placated by what Cameron had said. They would probably have to talk about this more later, and he would definitely be having words with both Nina and Rachel.

 

The way Nina had been treating them he wasn’t surprised that she had done something like this. He just couldn’t believe that Rachel had been a part of this too. This wasn’t like her. Had Nina pushed her? Would Nina go that far? Cameron hoped not but he couldn’t figure out why else Rachel would have done this to Gary.

 

“Gary, we can finish talking about this later. Patti is going to be here soon to pick up Tyler. I’m also going to have a talk with Nina and Rachel when we go back to work. They shouldn’t be saying things like that to you.”

 

“Why would they lie about that? I don’t understand.”

 

“I don’t know, Gary. I plan on finding out though. And I’ll make sure that Dr. Rosen knows what they did too.”

 

A knock at the door announced Patti’s arrival.

 

“Gary, I have to go now. You shouldn’t let those girls bother you. My dad really likes you.”

 

Gary got off the bed and hugged Tyler. It still warmed Cameron’s heart each time the two of them hugged. 

 

Cameron walked Tyler to the front door. “Thanks for handling things back there, Tyler. He really likes you.”

 

“I like him too.”

 

“So you’re really okay with this?”

 

“I am. He makes you happy and the two of you just seem really good together.”

 

“Tyler, what if it’s… what if it becomes a permanent thing? What if I wanted to keep Gary around. For a long time. For a very long time.”

 

Tyler looked up at him and broke out into a huge grin. “Can I be the flower girl?”

 

Cameron gaped at him and then laughed. “You know what, Tyler? If you really want to be, then sure. Why not? Although you’ll have to make sure it’s okay with Gary first.”

 

Tyler laughed. “Of course. I’ll make sure to do that. When it happens, of course. I won’t say anything now.”

 

They hugged and then Tyler left with Patti.

 

Cameron didn’t think that Tyler wanted to wear dresses on a regular basis. He had a feeling that Tyler just wanted to help make a statement at the wedding. And if it turned out that Tyler actually did want to wear dresses then who was Cameron to say no? He hoped Gary would be okay with Tyler as the flower girl. He had a feeling that if they did get married and they did have a wedding, then Gary was going to want everything done a certain way. Cameron wasn’t sure he would get a say in the wedding at all.

 

That wasn’t anywhere in the near future though. They still had time. They still had a lot of time. 

 

He leaned against the doorframe of the bedroom, unsure of if he should go in or not. Gary was sitting on the edge of the bed in his pajamas. He wasn’t facing Cameron.

 

“Do you feel any better, Gary?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Do you want to talk some more?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Do you believe me when I say that I do want to kiss you and that I’ve been wanting to for a long time and that I’ve just been waiting for you?”

 

Gary didn’t say anything. Cameron walked into the bedroom and sat down on the bed next to Gary. “I need you to tell me these things Gary. I need you to talk to me. I mean it when I say that I don’t want you to feel like you’ve been pushed into something that you don’t want to do. You know that I don’t want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

 

Gary leaned against him so Cameron put an arm around his shoulders and kissed his temple. 

 

“I won’t be mad at you if you try something like that.”

 

“I still don’t want to do anything without your permission. Not yet. Not while there are things to do that we haven’t done yet.”

 

“I don’t understand.”

 

“Well now that I know you want to kiss me I’m going to kiss you. Whenever the mood strikes. Maybe because of the way you smile at me. Maybe because you made me laugh. Maybe just because. If it’s a bad day for it then you can always push me away or tell me no. I just didn’t want that to happen for our first kiss.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Cameron kissed Gary’s temple again. “You mean a lot to me, Gary. Don’t listen to what anyone else has to tell you on the matter. Tyler and I both want you around for a long time.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Good. Get into bed. I’ll go get changed and join you in a minute.”

 

Gary pulled out from under his arm and got under the covers. Cameron got ready for bed and then joined Gary under the covers. Gary scooted closer to him and curled up against him. Cameron wrapped his arms around Gary. Neither of them said anything. There would be a lot of words tomorrow for Nina and Rachel though. He was going to make sure that they regretted everything they had done to Gary.

 

***

 

He had both Rachel and Nina in Rachel’s office, the door closed.

 

“Nina, I expected this from you, but Rachel, how could you do this to Gary?”

 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Cameron. I don’t know why I did it.”

 

“I do. You’re jealous of Gary. You’re jealous he found someone before you did. Why else would you have said those nasty things to him with me?”

 

“Nina, why are you being such a bitch about this? Can you really not get over the fact that you and I aren’t together anymore? You’re going to have to face the facts. I’m with Gary now and I’m planning on keeping him in my life forever. You need to get over this. You need to get over yourself. Rachel, you need to make new friends and you had better damn well apologize to Gary. And you had better mean it. Dr. Rosen will be hearing about this.”

 

Cameron stormed out of Rachel’s office and went back to his own so he could cool down before he went to talk to Dr. Rosen. Gary was sitting on his couch waiting for him.

 

“You were yelling at Nina and Rachel.”

 

“Yes I was.”

 

“You called Nina a bad word.”

 

“Yes I did.”

 

“Good.”

 

Cameron chuckled and sat down on the couch next to Gary. “You approve of me yelling at them?”

 

“Yes. They were mean to me. Especially Nina.”

 

“That’s true.”

 

“If they were mean to you I would yell at them.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Every time Nina says something bad about you I tell her to shut up. I told them to shut up yesterday but they kept going.”

 

“That’s really sweet of you, Gary.”

 

“Are you going to talk to Dr. Rosen now?”

 

“I’m going to sit here for a few minutes so I don’t go in there and start yelling.”

 

“Because he didn’t do anything.”

 

“Sort of. He hasn’t actually told you to break up with me, but he doesn’t approve of this relationship.”

 

“But you don’t want to yell at him.”

 

“Not right now. Unless he does something like Nina and Rachel did. Then I would yell at him.”

 

“Then I guess I’ll have to make sure not to piss you off the way that Nina and Rachel did.” Dr. Rosen was standing in his doorway.

 

“Do you know what happened?”

 

“Rachel actually talked to me earlier this morning. She felt really bad about what she had done.”

 

“I’m not really worried about Rachel. Nina is the problem.”

 

“I know.”

 

“You’re not exactly helping things either. If you want to say things about our relationship, then you should be saying them to me. Are you going to talk to Nina? Because I really need her to stop treating Gary the way she is.”

 

“I’ll talk to Nina. She has been getting worse. We’ll talk more about this whole thing during your session, okay?”

 

“Just as long as you talk to Nina and get her to leave us alone. Doc, Gary and I have a great relationship going here but there is so much strain on it from people like her and you and Gary’s mother. How can you not see how much worse you’re making things?”

 

Dr. Rosen sighed. “I’ll talk to Nina. I’ll make sure she knows to leave you alone. I’ll put her job on the line if I have to.”

 

“Thank you, Doc.”

 

“As for the rest of it, we’ll talk.”

 

Dr. Rosen walked away and Cameron was left seething. Was he the only one who saw how damaging their interfering was? He knew they had Gary’s best interests at heart, but they weren’t making things better. They weren’t helping at all. 

 

Gary wrapped his arms around Cameron and kissed his cheek. Cameron chuckled and rested his hands on Gary’s arm. “Thank you, Gary. I needed that.”

 

“I know.”

 

“We’re gonna be okay, right?”

 

“Of course we are.”

 

“You’re the best.”

 

“I know.”

 

*****

 

Dr. Rosen and Cameron had come to an agreement. Dr. Rosen would no longer try and tell Gary that he needed to watch out for Cameron or say anything that could be construed as trying to break them up or showing disapproval of their relationship, and Cameron agreed to doing the couples counseling thing two times a week instead of just one. It wasn’t something that Cameron really wanted to do but he would happily do anything to make Gary happier. 

 

He and Gary were in the break room right now and they were alone. They weren’t doing anything special. They were just leaning against the counter together, Cameron drinking some coffee and Gary watching something.

 

He had been keeping Gary on edge all week about the kiss. Gary knew it was coming but he didn’t know when. Cameron kept noticing Gary giving him hopeful looks all week. It was mean to keep not kissing him, but he was just waiting for the right moment. There had been a couple of times that he could have done it, but now he was actually glad that he hadn’t. Work might not be the best place, but at least they were alone right now.

 

He smiled and put his hand through whatever it was that Gary was watching to get his attention. Gary looked up at him, a bit annoyed at having been interrupted. Cameron moved his hand so that he was cupping Gary’s cheek. He moved closer to Gary and leaned in. He pressed his lips to Gary’s. It was more than a peck on the lips but just barely. 

 

Cameron pulled away and Gary smiled. Emboldened he leaned in to kiss Gary again, but this time with a little more intent. He kept his tongue to himself, positive that even if Gary were to ever enjoy that, it certainly wasn’t something he would want now. 

 

Gary was certainly enjoying this though. Cameron felt Gary’s hands come to rest on his shoulders as he pressed closer into Cameron. 

 

Cameron broke the kiss, brushing his thumb along Gary’s cheek, and then pulling away from Gary completely. He was smiling at Gary and Gary was smiling at him.

 

“I liked that.”

 

Cameron laughed, he was pretty sure with relief, and gave Gary a quick peck on the cheek.

 

“I liked it too, Gary. I liked it too.”

 

Someone cleared their throat from the entryway. Cameron turned to find that everyone in the office was watching them. He didn’t know how long they had all been standing there and it really didn’t matter. He was just glad that they had waited until after he and Gary were done kissing to get their attention.

 

“Did you guys enjoy the show?”

 

Nina walked off in a huff, Bill smirked, Rachel smiled, and Dr. Rosen… he wasn’t sure what Dr. Rosen was thinking. He didn’t look angry but he didn’t look happy either. He still had doubts about their relationship.

 

“I like kissing Cameron,” Gary announced to them all. If it was possible, Bill smirked even harder. Rachel walked into the break room to talk to Gary and Dr. Rosen kept his eyes focused on Cameron. 

 

He left Rachel and Gary to their conversation about kisses and made his way over to Dr. Rosen.

 

“Is there a problem, Doc? You knew this kiss was going to happen. We recently just had conversations about this.”

 

“Yes, and as I’ve stated to you before, I still don’t know about this relationship.”

 

“I don’t know, Doc. It seems to be going pretty well to me. We’re both happy. We go out on double dates with Bill and his wife and they seem to enjoy our company and they seem to not have a problem with us.”

 

“What Bill and his wife think of your relationship doesn’t concern me. What does concern me is your relationship with Gary. It might be going well now, yes, but what happens when this relationship develops even further?”

 

“Then things get even better? I don’t understand the problem. I’ve been a fantastic boyfriend to Gary and that’s not something I’ve ever really been able to claim before.”

 

Dr. Rosen walked off without saying a word which was unusual for him. It bothered Cameron because Dr. Rosen was their therapist and he was so dead set on them not being in this relationship. Their couples’ sessions were decent but it was their individual sessions that were the problem.

 

He wasn’t going to think about any of that today though. He wasn’t going to let anything spoil today. He had just kissed Gary and it had been amazing. 

 

He managed to get through the rest of his day, Gary spending the better part of it sitting on his couch. 

 

They breezed through their evening, spending it quietly on the couch and making dinner. Dinner itself was a quiet affair as usual. 

 

It wasn’t until bed that what had happened was finally acknowledged, though it wasn’t acknowledged by words. Once they were lying next to each other in bed, Cameron reached out and cupped Gary’s cheek. He leaned in and kissed him without wrapping his arms around him though he wanted nothing more than to do so. He just didn’t want to make Gary feel uncomfortable during any of this. Gary should be enjoying this experience. 

 

Gary rested a hand on his shoulder but he kept some space between their bodies. Cameron began to lightly stroke Gary’s arm to try and take his mind off of not being able to hold Gary and just enjoy kissing him, which really was fantastic. 

 

They kissed past Gary’s bedtime. Gary didn’t seem to notice or care. Cameron cared though. He didn’t want to get Gary off his schedule just because they were kissing. They had plenty of time to kiss now that they had gotten that first one out of the way.

 

Cameron broke the kiss, much to the dismay of them both. 

 

“Why did you stop?”

 

“Because it’s after your bedtime. You need to get to sleep, Gary.”

 

“But it’s after. I’m going to stay up all night now.”

 

“Well I’m going to sleep and I’d like it if you would join me.”

 

It wasn’t too far past Gary’s bedtime. He hoped Gary would agree to stay in bed and sleep with him. Gary took a few minutes to think about it and then he smiled at Cameron. Cameron laughed and wrapped his arms around Gary. He brushed his lips against Gary one last time, kissed his forehead, and then let his head fall back against the pillow. Sleep came easily.


	4. Chapter 4

Gary had wandered off from the group when they weren’t paying attention. They had been distracted. Cameron had been the first one to notice and he was sure that Gary hadn’t been gone for long. He ran off with the others close behind him.

 

He was too far away though and Gary was lost in tracking something and wasn’t paying attention. And yes, he knew that Gary was tracking something. He had slowly been learning how to read what Gary was doing. Tracking was by far the easiest one to figure out. 

 

Gary should know better though, but he just wasn’t paying attention. Cameron was sure he wasn’t going to make it.

 

He did though. He kept Gary from being hit by a truck only to slam him down onto the pavement, hurting him in the process. He didn’t know if he was ever going to be able to forgive himself for that.

 

“Gary, I know it hurts, but you need to let me see your arm.”

 

There were tears streaming down Gary’s face and he was hunched over, protecting his arm as best as he could. The rest of the team was gathered around them, crowding them as far as Cameron was concerned.

 

“Gary, let me see your arm,” Dr. Rosen tried.

 

“No!”

 

Cameron stood up and glared at everyone. “Okay, how about all of you just move back and give me and Gary some space.”

 

Bill and Rachel moved but Dr. Rosen and Nina stayed where they were. 

 

“Move or I will make you move,” he growled. He probably shouldn’t be threatening them, but he didn’t care. He needed to get Gary calmed and they weren’t helping.

 

Once everyone had finally backed away, Cameron kneeled next to Gary again. This time Gary let Cameron take his arm and examine it. Cameron cursed under his breath. Gary’s arm was definitely broken.

 

“Gary, your arm is broken. I’m going to have to take you to the hospital.”

 

Gary didn’t say anything but he let Cameron help him up.

 

“Gary, why don’t you let me take you to the hospital instead?” Dr. Rosen wasn’t supposed to be doing that. Yes Cameron had been the one to knock Gary to the pavement, but he had been saving his life. He was sure that Gary knew that.

 

“No. I want Cameron to take me.”

 

Cameron couldn’t resist shooting Dr. Rosen a smug look. Served him right. Gary trusted Cameron completely. One little mishap wasn’t going to change that.

 

Cameron got them to the hospital as fast as he dared and stayed with Gary as often as he could. He had had every intention of calling Sandra while they were at the hospital, but it seemed that Dr. Rosen had beaten him to the punch. 

 

She wasn’t here, thankfully, but she was giving Gary a hard time on the phone.

 

“Mom, I’m fine. Cameron is taking care of me.”

 

“It wasn’t his fault. He saved my life.”

 

He didn’t know what Sandra was saying on the other end of the phone, but Gary was growing frustrated. He got easily frustrated with his mother these days, especially when it came to Cameron. 

 

Gary was trying his hardest to get Sandra to like him, but so far he had been completely unsuccessful. Gary always stood up for him too, like he was doing now, even though it was Cameron’s fault that Gary was now wearing a cast.

 

“No. Don’t come over. I- Mom?”

 

Gary hung up his phone and looked at Cameron. “She’s coming over.”

 

Cameron cupped Gary’s cheek and leaned in, gently pressing his lips against Gary’s. “We should probably get you home then.” He gave Gary another quick kiss and then led him out of the hospital.

 

Gary was becoming more and more defensive when it came to people talking about Cameron. He was fiercely loyal and very clearly wanted to be in this relationship. Anyone could see that. They didn’t seem to care though. They all thought that they knew better than Gary did. They all thought they knew what was in Gary’s heart, apparently.

 

Rachel wasn’t completely against the relationship and would sometimes talk to Gary, but really the only friend that they had was Bill. Poor Bill had become a confidant for the both of them, though Cameron was pretty sure that Bill was actually enjoying it. Not that he could ever admit it. He seemed to understand though what it was that Gary and Cameron had. 

 

Not that that stopped Bill from teasing them from time to time, which in turn sometimes upset Gary, which always led to Bill taking them all out to eat as an apology. 

 

They beat Sandra back to their place. He tried to get Gary settled into bed but Gary refused to go. He was anxious about his mother coming over. 

 

Cameron wished he could fix things between the two of them. He was never unkind to Sandra. He was always on his best behavior when she was around. Not matter what he did, she refused to believe that he had Gary’s best interests at heart or that there was anything healthy or good at all about this relationship. 

 

Cameron didn’t know what else he could do.

 

A knock at the door announced Sandra’s arrival. He and Gary looked at each other, the same wariness apparent on both of their faces, though probably only Cameron could tell that about Gary.

 

Cameron went to the door to let her in. Sandra immediately shoved past him to get to Gary and started fussing over him. Cameron rolled his eyes behind her back.

 

Poor Gary kept trying to push her away and assure her that he was fine. Sandra had always babied him. It was one of the reasons he wasn’t too fond of her. Gary had flourished since he had started staying with Cameron. He was still with someone but he was also doing things on his own. Better than at Sandra’s and better than on his own.

 

Cameron wanted to intervene now and tell Sandra to just leave Gary alone, but he knew that would only lead to trouble. 

 

Gary flung his arms, trying to really express his displeasure with his mother, and slammed his newly casted arm against the wall. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground, hunched over his broken arm for the second time that day.

 

“Gary!” He ran over to Gary and picked him up off the floor. “Come on, Gary. Let’s get you into bed, okay?”

 

They left Sandra standing where she was. He got Gary into bed and then sat down next to him, running his fingers through Gary’s hair.

 

“I’m sorry, Gary.”

 

“It’s not your fault. You were saving me.”

 

“I’m still sorry. I wish you weren’t in pain. I wish I could fix it.”

 

“Come to bed with me?”

 

“Sure. Let me just go see your mother out.”

 

He leaned down and kissed Gary and when he got off the bed he found Sandra watching them. He hurried over to her and ushered her out of the bedroom. 

 

“Gary is just going to rest for the remainder of the day. There’s no reason for you to be here. You should just go and leave us to it.”

 

“He’s in pain. Do you even have any painkillers here for him?”

 

Cameron tried not to let show just how much her comment stung. It was true. They couldn’t keep anything like that here because of him and if Gary was in a lot of pain then he was going to have to suffer.

 

“Gary is going to be fine.”

 

“No thanks to you.”

 

“When are you going to realize that I’m in this for the long haul? When are you going to realize that I lo-“ Cameron cut himself off. He had almost just admitted to Sandra that he loved Gary when he hadn’t even told Gary that. He wouldn’t do that to Gary.

 

Sandra’s eyes widened at Cameron’s near admission and then she was digging through her purse. She pulled out a tiny bottle. It looked like painkillers.

 

“Will you be okay if I give this to you for him?”

 

Cameron chuckled. “To tell you the truth, it’s not even really an issue anymore. We just keep the place clean because better safe than sorry. Besides, Gary keeps me honest. There’s no way I’d be able to get away with keeping these for myself, even if I wanted to.”

 

Sandra nodded but seemed at a loss for words. She left and Cameron locked up behind her. He grabbed a glass of water and headed back to the bedroom. 

 

“Your mother left these for you.” He handed the bottle of pills to Gary.

 

“Cameron, you’re not supposed to have these. I don’t need them. Get rid of them.”

 

“Gary, calm down. I’m fine. I really am. You’re in pain though and you should take some.” He handed Gary the glass of water after Gary had set the bottle of pills down and hoped that Gary would listen to him.

 

“Are you going to be okay?”

 

“Yes. I don’t need them anymore.”

 

It was true. He was so much happier now and with someone who understood the stress of having an ability and he just had no desire to try and lose himself in painkillers or alcohol. 

 

He climbed into bed next to Gary. Gary set the water on the nightstand and handed the bottle of pills to Cameron. “Can you get them out for me?”

 

Cameron shook a couple of pills out of the bottle, handed it back to Gary so Gary could keep it on his side of the bed, and then handed the pills to Gary. Gary put them in his mouth and then drank half the glass of water that Cameron had given him.

 

Gary put something up on the television for them and then curled up against Cameron. Cameron wrapped his arms around Gary. Part of him was surprised that Gary was so tactile after everything that had happened, but at the same time he wasn’t. 

 

Gary was used to being around Cameron now and he accepted Cameron’s touch more and more. Even on his bad days he would still let Cameron touch him. Usually just a squeeze to his hand or his shoulder, but Cameron wasn’t complaining. The point was, that with Gary so used to his touch now, even after such an exhausting and traumatic day, Gary just wanted comfort and he knew that Cameron always found comfort in touch, and more and more Gary seemed to be finding comfort in touch as well. It happened after anyone gave him a hard time about their relationship. He would come to Cameron looking for a hug. 

 

It was the thing that had changed most in their relationship. Gary used to hate being touched, still did actually from anyone that wasn’t Cameron, and now Gary sought out his touch. There were still days when Cameron couldn’t hug him, but it was still so much more than Cameron had ever expected. 

 

“I’m so sorry about your arm, Gary.”

 

“I know.”

 

“It’s my fault that you’re in pain and I’m so sorry about that.”

 

“Cameron, a broken arm is better than being dead so will you just stop apologizing?”

 

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop apologizing.”

 

They fell into silence and watched TV for the rest of the day. When it was time for Gary to eat Cameron made food for the both of them and they ate in bed.

 

In bed that night Gary shied away from Cameron’s touch.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“Don’t be sorry. We’ve been touching all day. It’s okay. How are you feeling? How’s the pain?”

 

“I took some more painkillers. I should be okay. I’m sleepy though.”

 

“Then sleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night because you’re in pain you can wake me up. You don’t need to do this alone.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Goodnight, Gary.”

 

“Goodnight.”

 

***

 

Gary was not happy. None of his jackets fit over his cast. He managed to get Gary into the car and to work, but just barely. 

 

Gary had complained loudly on the way to the office and was still complaining to anyone who happened to walk by him. 

 

The entire team was annoyed with him and Cameron knew that if he didn’t do something soon then somebody was going to snap. He also knew that if he didn’t do something soon then he might become annoyed by Gary as well.

 

“Hey, Gary. Come with me.”

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“It’s a surprise, Gary. Will you just come with me?”

 

Gary got up and followed Cameron out of the office. He took them to the mall. It was always risky to take Gary to the mall because of the crowds and the noise, but the only way Gary was going to feel better was if he had a jacket that fit over that cast and Cameron was not leaving this place until they got one.

 

At least that was the plan. Otherwise he was going to have to keep Gary home for at least a few days in hopes that he would calm down.

 

“Why are we here, Cameron?”

 

“To find you a jacket that you can wear with that cast.”

 

Gary’s eyes brightened and he smiled at Cameron. “Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

Cameron followed Gary around the mall as Gary tried on jacket after jacket. This expedition was going to take longer than Cameron had anticipated so he sent a text to tell Dr. Rosen that they just weren’t going to take the rest of the day off. They were going to have to wash Gary’s new jacket anyway. They could try going to work again tomorrow. Dr. Rosen told him it was fine. He was probably relieved to have Gary out of the office. The rest of the team was probably relieved to have Gary out of the office. 

 

Cameron didn’t get it. Sure Gary liked to complain, but he was very honest about how he was feeling. More people should be like that. Cameron was doing his best to speak what was on his mind when it came to Gary. Especially if Gary ever asked him what was wrong. It wasn’t easy. Cameron was too used to letting a lie just slip off his tongue without even thinking about it.

 

Finally Gary found a jacket. They paid for it and Cameron led him over to the food court since it was about time for Gary to have lunch.

 

“Are you okay with eating here?”

 

“We have to wash my jacket, Cameron.”

 

“I know. We’ll wash it as soon as we get home. We don’t have to go back to the office today. Okay?”

 

“Okay.”

 

“So are you okay to eat here then?”

 

“I guess so.”

 

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

 

“Can we see if they have anything I like?”

 

“We can do that.”

 

They walked around the food court until Gary found something that he was willing to eat. They didn’t stay long. Neither of them really wanted to be here and now that Gary had a jacket he was happy with there was no reason for them to be here. 

 

At home Cameron put Gary’s jacket in the wash and then the two of them curled up onto the couch together. Gary was feeling better now that he had a jacket he would be able to wear and he didn’t mind when Cameron pulled him into his arms. 

 

“How’s your arm feeling?”

 

“It’s not as bad as yesterday.”

 

“Do you feel better now that you have a jacket you can wear?”

 

“Yes.”

 

They lapsed into silence, or so Cameron thought.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

Gary shifted so that he was looking at Cameron. Cameron leaned in and kissed him and Gary’s good hand found its way to the back of Cameron’s neck. He smiled into the kiss and cupped Gary’s face in his hands, keeping some contact with Gary but not enough to make Gary feel trapped. 

 

He had quickly learned that while kissing, if Cameron kept his arms wrapped around Gary he was more likely to grow uncomfortable, especially if he wasn’t in the best of moods to begin with. He liked when Cameron cupped his face though, and today was definitely a day he wasn’t going to risk wrapping his arms around Gary. 

 

And people thought he was bad for Gary? He was always sensitive to Gary’s needs and wants. He’d like to see anyone on the team do it as well as he did.

 

Gary pulled out of the kiss and rested his head on Cameron’s shoulder. Cameron put his arms back around Gary and held him close. If Gary’s arm wasn’t in a cast this moment would be perfect.

 

This moment still kind of was perfect. Maybe it was actually Gary’s arm that made this moment perfect. Whatever it was, it was something to treasure.

 

*****

Cameron had left earlier in the day to run this errand. He had left his cell phone in his office so Gary wasn’t able to track him. He hadn’t even ordered the gift himself. It was all just too easy for someone like Gary to track. 

 

Cameron didn’t actually mind any of that. He really didn’t. Except for the fact that he had been trying to buy Gary his Christmas gifts. It made the whole ordeal way too difficult. 

 

“You’re finally back,” Gary said as soon as Cameron walked into the break room. Everyone was there today for lunch. Joy.

 

“I told you I would be back for lunch and here I am.”

 

“What did you get?”

 

Cameron held up the box in his hand for Gary to see. “This is a Christmas present for you.”

 

Gary grinned eagerly at him. “Can I open it now?”

 

Cameron had a few other gifts already for Gary. Some smaller things. This was the special present though. This was the one he was most proud of. This was the one he knew Gary was going to love. This was also the one that Gary should probably open on Christmas Day.

 

He handed the box to Gary. “You know what? Have at it.”

 

Gary took the box from Cameron and began slowly peeling the paper back. Finally he got to the box itself and opened it. He pulled out one of the two gifts that were inside and just held it in his hands. He knew Gary well enough to know that he was stunned by the gift and didn’t know what to say. He was struggling to express himself right now.

 

He knew how much that frustrated Gary, but right now he was kind of pleased with himself. It was nice to know that he had been able to find something and do something so wonderful for Gary that Gary had trouble processing it. 

 

“This is soft,” Gary finally said.

 

“Yes it is.”

 

“This is really soft. I’ve never felt one this soft before. Here, feel this.” Gary held up the jacket for Rachel to feel. Her eyes widened as she touched it.

 

“Cameron, this is really nice.”

 

Cameron grinned. He was ridiculously pleased with himself. Maybe more than he should be, but he didn’t care. He had found Gary the perfect gift and even Rachel was impressed by the quality of it. 

 

It had taken him forever to find, but he had finally found a nice green jacket for Gary. He had thought about getting black, but had dismissed it. He had also thought about getting white but he dismissed that as well. Neither of them were really Gary colors and even though black or white would have been best so that Gary could wear it with anything, Cameron had gone with color instead. 

 

The jacket was made with baby alpaca. It was super soft to the touch and Gary was going to love wearing it. Cameron knew how much Gary loved his jackets, especially when they were soft, so he had searched long and hard for the perfect jacket for Gary. And he was pleased with what he had found. 

 

Gary took off the jacket he was wearing and put his new one on. He couldn’t seem to stop stroking it, smiling as he did so.

 

“Cameron, this is a nice gift.”

 

Cameron didn’t say anything. It was and they both knew it.

 

“This is a really nice gift, Cameron.”

 

Gary was acting like he couldn’t understand why Cameron would get him something so nice. Their team, sensing that he and Gary were about to have some important talk, left him and Gary alone in the break room. He scooted his chair over so that he was closer to Gary.

 

“It is a nice gift, Gary.”

 

“And you got it for me. Because you like me. Because we’re in a relationship.”

 

Cameron hadn’t yet told Gary how he really felt. It had been hard to assess just how that would go over. Normally that was something you waited to say until you were sure you meant it and then it was some defining moment in your relationship. He didn’t doubt that Gary understood love, but he processed things differently and Cameron didn’t think it would be a defining moment in their relationship. He wasn’t sure what it would do for their relationship, if anything at all. So he had waited. Out of fear.

 

“Gary, I got it for you because I knew it would make you happy and I love seeing you happy. I got it for you because you make me happy and I wanted to get you something special just because I could. I got it for you because I could, because I wanted to. I love you, Gary. All I ever want to do is make you happy.”

 

Gary smiled and grabbed a fistful of Cameron’s t-shirt, pulling him in for a kiss. Cameron laughed into the kiss as he moved his hands so he was cupping Gary’s face. He couldn’t help it. He loved when Gary became assertive. It didn’t happen nearly enough and Cameron loved each and every time it happened. He loved when Gary surprised him, period. 

 

Gary was the one who broke the kiss and he was about to toss the box that he had pulled the jacket out of aside.

 

“Don’t do that. There’s something else in there.”

 

Gary dug into the box and pulled out the matching blanket. It was just something for him to use when he was relaxing on the couch. It wasn’t as big a deal as the jacket had been and really Cameron needn’t have picked it up at all, but he thought that Gary might enjoy it anyway.

 

“It’s soft.”

 

“Just like the jacket.”

 

“You got me two soft things.”

 

“I know how much you love soft things.”

 

Gary tossed the box aside and set the blanket down on his lap. “And you got them for me because you love me.”

 

“I do, Gary. I love you so much.”

 

Gary smiled and fussed with his blanket.

 

“Are you okay with that, Gary?”

 

“I like it. It makes me feel happy.”

 

“That’s good. That’s how it should be.”

 

“It means I’m special.”

 

“Yes it does, Gary. You are special. You’re special because you make me laugh. You’re special because you always know when I’m having a bad day and you always try to make me feel better. You’re special because you gave Tyler another chance, even after he was mean to you. You’re special because you and Tyler get along so well. You’re special because I want to spend all of my time with you. You’re special because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You’re special because you make me feel special.”

 

Gary looked like he might start crying at any minute now but he also looked confused and like he didn’t know how to process all the nice things that Cameron had just said about him. 

 

“Cameron.”

 

“I know. Come here.” He held out his arms for Gary. Gary wound his arms around Cameron and buried his face in Cameron’s neck. 

 

He hoped the team had been listening in. He would be surprised if they hadn’t been. Maybe now they would leave him and Gary alone. Maybe now they would finally realize just what Gary meant to him. 

 

“I love you,” he whispered into Gary’s ear. Gary lifted his head off of Cameron’s shoulder and moved his hands so he was cupping Cameron’s face, the way that Cameron had done so many times to him. 

 

Gary kissed him sweetly, clearly feeling everything that Cameron was feeling at the moment. He didn’t know when Gary would say it, or if he ever would, but it didn’t matter. He knew. Gary loved him too.


	5. Chapter 5

It was the middle of the day so the store wasn’t as bad as it could be. He hated dragging Gary out to any store at any time, but it had to be done. He and Gary were shopping for suits for their upcoming anniversary dinner. Rachel was with them and Cameron had also enlisted the help of one of the young women working there. Vanessa, her name was.

 

“We need suits for our anniversary dinner. Gary here gets final approval on everything so you’ll have to get all the clothes past him. Oh, and if you can make it so we don’t have to wear ties, that would be fantastic.”

 

Vanessa smiled at the three of them. “I think I have just the thing.”

 

Vanessa was good at her job. Very good. The first suit she picked out Cameron knew was a winner. She held it out to Gary so he could touch it. 

 

“It’s soft.”

 

“It’s out softest style. It’s also not as constricting as other suits might be. The shirts that go with these are just as soft. What color would you like to wear?”

 

“I don’t want to wear a black suit.”

 

“I can put your boyfriend in the black suit and you can wear a gray suit. Would that work for you? Then you could wear a black shirt with it and he could wear a gray shirt with his.”

 

“Okay. Let’s try that.”

 

Vanessa grabbed clothes for the both of them and set them up in separate dressing rooms so that Gary could get the full effect of seeing Cameron in these clothes for the first time. 

 

Cameron walked out and Rachel smiled when she saw him. “Cameron, you look so handsome.”

 

Cameron smiled and looked at himself in the mirrors. The suit fit well. Vanessa really did know what she was doing.

 

Gary walked out and Cameron stood rooted to the spot. His eyes followed Gary as Gary walked up to him and stood next to him, facing the mirrors to see how they looked. Cameron couldn’t take his eyes off of Gary. 

 

He heard Rachel and Vanessa fussing over Gary but he had no idea what they were saying. He just knew that they kept getting in his line of sight, obstructing his view of Gary, and he didn’t like that. He wanted them to go away.

 

Finally they did and Cameron could see Gary fully again. He was beautiful. 

 

“Cameron,” Cameron heard, but it sounded far off in the distance so he ignored it.

 

“Cameron!” This time the voice was more insistent and Cameron turned towards it. Rachel was standing near him.

 

“Cameron, are you back with me now?”

 

Cameron blinked and the world roared back to life around him. He let out a shaky breathy. “Sorry.”

 

Rachel was smiling at him. She wasn’t mad. She knew what had gripped his attention so thoroughly. He turned back to Gary who was looking at the two of them in the mirror. He stepped in front of Gary and began running his hands along Gary’s arms, fixing his jacket even though it was already perfect.

 

“Don’t mess it up. Vanessa already fixed it.”

 

Cameron paused what he was doing and looked at Gary. “Really?”

 

“Yes. She asked first.”

 

Cameron smiled and cupped Gary’s face in his hands. 

 

“You usually do that when you’re about to kiss me. Are you going to kiss me here? You can’t do that. We’re in the middle of shopping.”

 

Cameron leaned in close to Gary but didn’t kiss him. “Does this mean you don’t want me to?”

 

Gary didn’t answer him so Cameron leaned the rest of the way in and kissed Gary. He had to kiss Gary now. He looked so good and there were so many other things that Cameron desperately wanted to do, but they weren’t there yet. And that was okay. But right now he just needed to kiss Gary.

 

When he pulled away he kept his hands on Gary’s face. “You’re so beautiful.”

 

“Cameron, women are beautiful.”

 

“Men can be beautiful too, and you are beautiful.”

 

He stepped back into place by Gary’s side so they could see how the suits looked together. 

 

“Do you like the suit, Gary?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“We look good.”

 

“We look beautiful,” Gary replied. Cameron chuckled and tousled Gary’s hair. 

 

“Come on. Let’s get out of these things so we can get out of here.”

 

Gary headed off to the changing room and Cameron stood there watching him go.

 

“Cameron?”

 

Cameron turned towards Rachel.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Did you see him, Rachel?”

 

“I know. I can’t imagine what it must feel like for you. You’re just going to have to make sure to not zone out during dinner.”

 

Cameron huffed. “Yeah. I’ll do my best. Although I don’t think Gary will notice anyway.”

 

Rachel grinned slyly at him. “I think you’ll be surprised by how this dinner goes.”

 

Cameron opened his mouth to say something but Rachel waved him off. “Don’t worry. I know you want him to be himself at dinner. You’ll just have to trust me on this, okay?”

 

Cameron pointed at her. “Don’t make me send Tyler after you. He doesn’t like when anyone messes with Gary or me.”

 

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to send in Tyler. Now go get changed.”

 

Cameron hurried off to the changing room and quickly stripped out of his suit and back into his regular clothes.

 

Vanessa took their suits and headed for one of the registers. They got there and Rachel beat him to the comment cards. It was like she had read his mind. He knew she would write down exactly what Cameron wanted to express, but probably do a better job of it so he left her to it and paid for his and Gary’s suits. 

 

They headed back to the office, thoughts of Gary in his suit still on his mind.

 

*****

 

Rachel had wanted to help so she was at their place now helping them get ready. She had also wanted to be there to see them off in their suits. She had brought a camera with her. 

 

Cameron wasn’t sure what had made him agree to let Rachel help out, but she did at least make sure that he and Gary would leave here looking their best. She kind of had an eye for detail. Of course. 

 

Rachel didn’t let them out the door until they were both up to her standards. She took a couple of pictures, which Gary did not like, and then he and Gary were finally free to leave for their anniversary dinner. 

 

It was Valentine’s Day and that meant the restaurant was going to be really crowded. Cameron had scheduled an earlier dinner time for the two of them in hopes of avoiding most of the crowd. It was one of his better ideas because the restaurant was still fairly empty when they arrived. 

 

Cameron had chosen a really fancy place that even had dancing. He wasn’t expecting them to do that though. 

 

They were seated and Cameron had to hold back a laugh as Gary flustered their waiter. He hid it better than most other waiters though. He came back with their waters and when he left, Gary surprised him.

 

“Cameron, do you want to dance?”

 

“Dance? Really? Are you sure?”

 

Gary smiled at him. This must have been one of those things Rachel had been talking about when she had asked him to trust her. If she had taught Gary to dance, he was glad he had trusted her. 

 

Cameron led them out onto the dance floor. Gary fell into step easily with him. They moved across the dance floor as if they had been dancing together for ages. 

 

“Did Rachel teach you to dance?”

 

“Yes. It was her idea. It sounded like a good idea and I wanted to surprise you with it.”

 

Cameron kissed Gary as they moved across the floor. “This was a wonderful surprise. Thank you for learning how to do this for me.”

 

Gary smiled and as the music changed to something even slower, he moved closer to Cameron and rested his head on Cameron’s shoulder. 

 

Cameron had no doubt that Rachel had also explained to Gary about anniversaries and why they were important to some people. Cameron really didn’t see the fuss about celebrating them but Gary had been the one to approach him about it, probably at Rachel’s insistence, and he wasn’t about to say no to Gary. As long as they kept things simple he didn’t mind. 

 

As far as Cameron was concerned, tonight was just like any other night he and Gary went out for dinner. Except it included dancing. He was actually on the dance floor holding Gary close. He was having a little trouble believing that. He was actually dancing with Gary.

 

They stayed on the dance floor until Cameron spotted the waiter leaving them their food. He tugged Gary off the dance floor and back to their table. The food was delicious and exactly the way Gary had wanted.

 

“Can we stay here and dance some more?”

 

“I actually have a surprise for you.”

 

“Really? What is it?”

 

Cameron laughed. “Gary, I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise. We should go now though. It’s going to take a bit to get there.”

 

This was a surprise that Cameron was actually worried about. Gary was particular and Cameron was worried that Gary was actually going to have issues with this surprise. He had to try though. 

 

They got there early that night. It was a hotel on the beach. He had a suite overlooking the ocean. He really hoped Gary would like it.

 

He wasn’t planning for anything to happen, he just wanted to be romantic and show Gary a nice time. 

 

“Are we staying here?”

 

“We are. Unless you really don’t want to.”

 

“It might not be clean.”

 

“Don’t worry. I made sure that this was a highly rated hotel and that they kept it clean. Tell me now if you don’t want to stay. We can turn around and go home if you don’t want to.”

 

“No. We can try this.”

 

He hoped Gary would feel better about all of this when he saw the suite that Cameron had booked for them. 

 

“How long are we here for?”

 

“Tonight and tomorrow night.”

 

“But we don’t have to stay if I don’t want to.”

 

“Right.”

 

Cameron led them up to their room and dropped their luggage onto their bed. He had packed for the two of them while Gary had been busy doing who knows what with his ability. 

 

He opened the doors to the balcony and walked out onto it. He took a deep breath in and let it out on a sigh. This was nice. He hoped Gary would think so too. 

 

“This is nice,” Gary echoed his thoughts as he joined him on the balcony. Cameron put his arm around Gary’s shoulders and pulled him in close. 

 

“Cameron, in movies couples always have sex in hotel rooms.”

 

“That’s true.”

 

“Is that what we’re going to do?”

 

“Gary, I brought you here to do exactly what we do at home but somewhere else. If you want things to progress further than that, then you’re going to have to say something or you’re going to have to make the first move.”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“There’s no need to decide now. There’s no need to rush into anything. We have plenty of time. We have time this weekend and we have time, period.”

 

“We’re still going to kiss, right?”

 

Cameron chuckled and pulled Gary closer to him, leaning in and kissing him. He took a chance in wrapping his arms around Gary, hoping that Gary was in good enough of a mood from tonight to not be bothered too much by this. 

 

They made out on the balcony for a while until Cameron kissed and walked Gary back into the bedroom so they could at least make out on the bed. Gary wouldn’t let Cameron push him onto the bed though. 

 

“What’s wrong? Would you rather move to the couch?”

 

“No.”

 

Cameron looked down. Gary was hard. “Gary?”

 

“I want. I don’t know what I want but I want.”

 

Cameron pushed Gary away from him. “I don’t think this is a good idea, Gary.” He dug through the bags and pulled out Gary’s pajamas and tossed them to him. “Here. Put these on.”

 

He sat down on the bed and faced away from Gary. He wanted nothing more than to give Gary what he wanted, but after all this waiting he wasn’t sure if he was ready now. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, because he definitely did. He just wanted to be absolutely certain that Gary was sure about this and he wasn’t sure if Gary had that certainty right now or not.

 

“Cameron, do you not want to?”

 

Cameron turned to Gary. He was sitting in his underwear and he looked miserable. Cameron had done that to him. 

 

“That’s not it at all. Gary, I’ve wanted to for so long. I want you so badly.”

 

Gary got off the bed and stood in front of Cameron. He slid his hands under Cameron’s jacket and slid it off his shoulders. Cameron should stop him but he wanted this so much. He shrugged the jacket off the rest of the way himself. As he did that, Gary started working on the buttons of his shirt. Cameron sat as patiently as he could while Gary undid his buttons. 

 

Cameron’s heart was racing. Were they actually going to go through with this? Were they actually going to do… something? He wasn’t sure how far this was going to go. 

 

Gary finished unbuttoning his shirt and helped Cameron take it off. 

 

“Gary, who have you been talking to about this?”

 

“Dr. Rosen and I have talked about it before, but I haven’t talked to anyone else.”

 

Then maybe he was getting all of this from those romance movies he watched with Rachel. 

 

When his shirt was off he gently pushed Gary away so that he could finish undressing himself. Soon they were both down to their underwear. He still didn’t want to push Gary into anything though so he lay back on the bed and waited for Gary to come to him. Gary got onto the bed and lay half on him and half on the bed.

 

“Are you sure about this, Gary?”

 

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now.”

 

“Why didn’t you say anything? We could have talked about it.”

 

“I didn’t want to talk about it. I wanted to figure it out on my own.”

 

“Do you even know what you want to do right now?”

 

“No.”

 

“You just thought we’d see where it goes?”

 

“Is that okay?”

 

Was it okay? He really hadn’t planned on anything like this happening here. He had only wanted to get away from their place for a bit and enjoy the ocean. 

 

He lifted a hand to cup Gary’s cheek and pulled him down for a kiss. They fell back against the bed, Cameron wrapping his arms around Gary. He stroked his hands along Gary’s back but didn’t do much else. Not yet. He wanted Gary to get used to this first, but he did actually now have a plan for what he was going to do.

 

They made out for a while until Gary started shifting restlessly against him. He rolled them so that he was lying on top of Gary though he kept most of his weight off of him. Gary’s breath was coming quickly and he was looking at Cameron with wide eyes. 

 

Slowly Cameron closed the distance between them until his lips captured Gary’s in a kiss. Gary wrapped his arms around Cameron, his hands gripping Cameron’s shoulders. Slowly he rocked against Gary, brushing their erections together. Gary gasped and dug his fingers into Cameron’s shoulders. 

 

Cameron had no idea if Gary had ever even masturbated, though if he had it would have likely been at some point during their relationship. He was betting that Gary never had though.

 

He continued rocking against Gary slowly until Gary pushed him away.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“These are uncomfortable,” Gary replied as he started to push down his underwear. Cameron moved Gary’s hands away and pulled them down himself. He tossed them aside and then took off his own.

 

He lay back down with Gary and pressed their foreheads together, but Gary squirmed beneath him, and not in a good way. He was growing uncomfortable with Cameron’s touch. He would have to finish this quickly then, but he didn’t want to do that. This whole thing was turning into a disaster and they hadn’t even really started.

 

He was feeling too much pressure to perform and to make sure that Gary enjoyed himself and to make sure that Gary wasn’t uncomfortable at all. He started to panic so he rolled off of Gary and lay down next to him instead.

 

Gary propped himself up on his elbows. “Is something wrong, Cameron?”

 

He could lie. If it had been anyone else then he would have. He and Gary were going to have to talk about this though because this could very easily become a problem.

 

“Yes. I’m freaking out.”

 

“Freaking out?”

 

“I’m worried about making you uncomfortable. I’m nervous about screwing things up. What if it’s not good for you? You’ve never done this before. It should be good for you. What if I’m taking too long and I start making you uncomfortable that way? I don’t know what’s okay. What if I touch you a certain way and you hate it and it spoils everything?”

 

Gary surprised him by rolling on top of him. “Why are you so worried about all of that? I want this.”

 

“I know.”

 

Gary leaned down and gave him a quick kiss. “I’ve been watching porn.”

 

It took a minute for Cameron’s brain to catch up. “Wait. What?”

 

“Bill told me about porn. He told me that it wouldn’t be the same though. He just suggested it so I knew what to expect. I want everything but there are some things that I don’t want to do yet.”

 

“Like what?”

 

Gary actually blushed and looked away from him.

 

“Let me guess - anal sex.”

 

Gary nodded. Cameron cupped Gary’s cheek, forcing him to look at Cameron. “It’s okay. We don’t have to rush into that.”

 

“It doesn’t sound like it would be very good but the guys always seemed to enjoy it. They were just acting though. Is it good, Cameron?”

 

“I’ve never done it before, but it’s supposed to be good if it’s done right.”

 

Cameron rolled them so that he was on top again. “I know what I want to do. If you don’t like something then tell me. If something makes you uncomfortable then tell me. Okay?”

 

Gary smiled at him and Cameron had to lean down and kiss him. He started kissing his way down Gary’s body, quickly finding out that Gary didn’t like light kisses along his body. When Cameron stopped to tease at Gary’s nipples, Gary was a little more receptive.

 

A lot more receptive.

 

Cameron spent a decent amount of time sucking, licking, and gently biting Gary’s nipples as Gary mewled and writhed beneath him. 

 

He didn’t want to tease Gary too much though. Not this time. Not when he didn’t know how much Gary could take and how much he couldn’t.

 

He wanted to kiss his way down the rest of Gary’s body but he knew Gary wouldn’t like that, so he went to exactly where he wanted to wind up. He had never done this before but he let instinct, and probably a lot of his ability, take over.

 

He licked up Gary’s erection and swirled his tongue around the head. He heard Gary’s breathing pick up. He took just the tip into his mouth, licked over Gary’s slit. 

 

“Cameron.”

 

Cameron pulled off of Gary and looked up at him. Gary was looking at him in awe.

 

“Is this okay?”

 

Gary nodded so Cameron turned his attention back to Gary’s dick. He gripped the base and slid his mouth down as far as he could. It wasn’t much now but he hoped with time he could take more of Gary into his mouth. 

 

He wasn’t fantastic at this but Gary didn’t seem to mind. He was enjoying himself far more than he thought he would. He liked the feel of Gary inside his mouth and he liked the taste of him too. As long as Gary liked this, and if the noises he was making were anything to go by then he did, then Cameron was going to be getting a lot of practice in because he absolutely wanted to do this again. And he would perfect it for Gary.

 

He could tell Gary was close. This would be the first time another person had given him an orgasm, possibly the first time he would have an orgasm at all. He groaned and Gary came. He managed to not choke and even swallowed everything down. Not his favorite part of this, but he would continue doing it all the same. 

 

He stayed with Gary until just before he became too sensitive and then crawled back up the bed, propping himself up on an elbow so he could look at Gary. Gary’s eyes were closed and he was panting, a faint smile on his face. He wanted to kiss Gary or touch Gary but he had the feeling Gary was the type of person who wouldn’t appreciate being kissed after a blow job, and Cameron wasn’t sure how Gary would take being touched right now.

 

When Gary made no signs of moving Cameron rolled onto his back. He had a pressing need of his own that needed to be taken care of. He started stroking himself, thinking about what he had just done with Gary, and he let out a groan. 

 

Gary finally stirred. He sat up and moved over to Cameron, straddling Cameron’s legs and watching as Cameron stroked himself. Hesitantly he stretched his arm out and wrapped his hand around Cameron. Cameron stopped stroking himself and waited to see what Gary would do. Slowly, painfully slow, Gary started stroking Cameron.

 

He let Gary do that for a bit, letting him get used to the feel of him. After a few minutes though he put his hand over Gary’s. He tightened Gary’s grip on him and got him moving faster. Once Gary had the hang of it Cameron pulled his hand away and propped himself up on both elbows so that he could better watch Gary.

 

He fisted his hands in the sheets as he got closer. He didn’t want to move in any way for fear of messing Gary up, though he desperately wanted to thrust up into Gary’s hand. Gary looked up at him and he came, toes curling and hands fisting into the sheets until he was practically tearing them. He pushed Gary’s hand away when he became too sensitive. 

 

“Was that okay?”

 

“Gary, that was fantastic,” Cameron managed, his breathing still not under control. Gary lay on the bed next to him.

 

“Can we do that again?”

 

Cameron laughed. “I hope you don’t mean right now because I need time to recover first.”

 

“Not now. Later. Or tomorrow.”

 

“Of course we can. That and more if you want.” Cameron let out a groan and forced himself off of the bed so he could go clean up.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“I’m just going to get cleaned up. I’ll be right back.” 

 

He cleaned himself off and then brushed his teeth for good measure. Gary was stretched out naked on the bed when Cameron walked back out. He took a moment to admire the view before climbing onto the bed with him. He slid over to Gary so that they were close but weren’t touching. He propped himself up on an elbow and then leaned down to kiss Gary.

 

Gary wrapped his arms around Cameron and pulled Cameron down to him. Cameron laughed into this kiss running one of his hands through Gary’s hair. Gary ran his hands along Cameron’s back. Cameron let out a sigh and broke the kiss so that he could nuzzle at Gary’s neck. That made Gary laugh. “That tickles.”

 

Cameron laughed again and rolled off of Gary to lie next to him. “How do you feel, Gary?”

 

Gary grinned and stretched. “I feel really good.”

 

“Good.”

 

“It’s time for bed now.”

 

Cameron peaked at the clock on the nightstand. Sure enough, it was time for bed. “When did it get to be so late? I feel like it should be earlier.”

 

“Well the sooner we go to bed the sooner we can get up in the morning and have sex again.”

 

Cameron laughed and pulled Gary to him. “I love you, Gary.”

 

Gary smiled and kissed him. “Are we going to sleep naked?”

 

“We can if you want to.”

 

Gary made a face.

 

“That’s okay. Pajamas it is.”

 

They changed into their pajamas and got back into bed. Gary curled up around him slinging an arm over Cameron’s chest and a leg over Cameron’s own. 

 

Cameron was surprised that Gary was still so tactile after the time they had just spent together. He was thrilled by it though. He wound his arms around Gary, not holding him too closely in case Gary started to get uncomfortable. 

 

The balcony door was still open and Cameron fell asleep to the sound of the ocean and Gary in his arms.

 

***

 

Gary was kissing his neck. Cameron couldn’t think of a better way to wake up. He could feel Gary’s erection pressed against him and Cameron smiled, opening his eyes and letting out a sigh.

 

“I think I really like waking up this way.”

 

“Can we have sex again?”

 

Cameron laughed. Again. He liked that he could laugh in bed with Gary. Sex for Gary was new so he had a feeling they were going to be doing this a lot. Not that Cameron minded. He had been thinking about this for so long and the reality was so much better than what he had imagined. And if they did it often, well that was just fantastic. 

 

He helped Gary out of his pajamas and then they both got him out of his own. He lay on top of Gary and took them both in his hand. Gary watched him as he first started stroking but then his head fell back against the pillow, eyes closed, as the pleasure grew.

 

Cameron watched Gary, memorizing the way Gary looked when he was being pleasured, the way he looked when he was about to come, and the way he looked when he did come. Cameron’s own orgasm took him by surprise, as focused on Gary as he was.

 

He rolled off of Gary and onto his back panting, happy, and feeling so incredibly lucky. Next to him Gary made a disgusted groan. “This is gross. I need to shower.”

 

Cameron laughed and thought about joining Gary in the shower, but decided they could wait on that. He should let Gary have some time to himself to clean the mess they had made on him and to gather his thoughts if he needed to.

 

He must have dozed because Gary was shaking him and telling him that it was almost time for breakfast.

 

“Okay, okay. I’m up. I’m going.” He stumbled to the shower and turned the water to ice to help wake him up. There were some days when he wished Gary didn’t have to be on a schedule because he really would rather just go back to bed right now.

 

He showered and dressed quickly and they headed downstairs for breakfast. Gary didn’t fluster the waiter as much as he normally did which was kind of sad because Cameron did enjoy watching that. 

 

“How are you feeling?” Cameron decided to ask.

 

Gary smiled and Cameron was sure if he had been anyone else he also would have ducked his head and blushed. 

 

Cameron chuckled. “That’s good. That’s really good. You know that wasn’t my plan for this weekend. I figured we would just lounge around and make out. Not that I regret what we did. I loved it and I hope we do more, but that’s not the reason I brought you out here.”

 

“I know.”

 

“So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?”

 

“We could sit out on the balcony for a while.”

 

“Just relax?”

 

“That would be nice.”

 

Out on the balcony Gary curled up against Cameron and relaxed. He didn’t even start using his ability. It was nice. It was peaceful. It was exactly what he wanted.

 

Almost.

 

He tipped Gary’s chin up so he could kiss him. Gary was clearly on board with the plan, situating himself so that he could more comfortably kiss Cameron. Cameron didn’t try and push things further, even though now he could probably push and Gary would be willing. That wasn’t what he wanted though. As much as he had loved it, this had been what his plans for the weekend were and he still really wanted to do this. He didn’t spend nearly enough time kissing Gary.

 

So they made out on the balcony, pausing to rest every so often so they could catch their breath. They spent the morning like that until Gary’s schedule forced them to break apart so that they could have lunch. Cameron had food delivered to their room and they enjoyed that out on the balcony as well. 

 

After lunch Cameron pulled Gary inside so they could make out on the bed for a while. It was Gary, once again, who initiated sex. He slid his hands under Cameron’s t-shirt and then broke their kiss long enough to tug the t-shirt off of Cameron. Before Gary could continue kissing him, he pulled Gary’s shirt off and tossed it to the side. 

 

Gary pushed him onto his back. He started peppering kisses along Cameron’s neck and then his torso. He was mimicking what Cameron had done to him last night. He was trying to find out what he liked and what Cameron liked. 

 

It was hard to be so vocal about what he liked or didn’t like and give instruction in bed, but he knew that it was what Gary needed. 

 

When Gary got to Cameron’s nipples he hesitated and then stuck out his tongue and gave a tentative lick. That wasn’t going to do much for Cameron. He knew what would, but he wasn’t sure if Gary would be willing or not.

 

“Bite it.”

 

“What?”

 

“Bite down on it.”

 

“What if I bite too hard?”

 

“Start gently.”

 

Gary bit down so gently that Cameron barely even felt it.

 

“Harder.”

 

Gary didn’t bite down much harder.

 

“Gary, you’re going to have to bite down harder than that.”

 

Gary did.

 

“Almost there. Just a little harder. Yes, that’s perfect.”

 

He wanted to run his fingers through Gary’s hair but he knew Gary wouldn’t like that so he settled for resting his hand on the back of Gary’s neck, hoping that it wouldn’t bother him too much.

 

“If you could use your tongue a little too while you’re doing that.” Cameron groaned as Gary’s tongue licked at the nub that was caught between his teeth. 

 

“Okay. You can stop biting. Just use your tongue and your mouth the way I did to you last night.”

 

Gary licked and sucked the tender flesh. Cameron sighed and after a bit he pushed Gary away. Gary didn’t move to do anything else.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“That was strange.”

 

“You don’t have to do it again if you don’t want to.”

 

“You really liked it.”

 

“Yes I did.”

 

“Do you want the same thing on your other nipple?”

 

“Yes,” Cameron replied on shaky breath. 

 

Gary gave his other nipple the same attention that he had given the first. He smiled at Cameron when he was done and Cameron flipped them so that Gary was lying on his back. He gave Gary’s nipples the same attention, only changing the pressure of the bite, just to give Gary a taste of what he had just done. 

 

“Oh,” Gary whispered. Cameron chuckled and started undoing Gary’s pants. He rid Gary of his clothes and then kicked off his own. 

 

He got back on the bed, took the base of Gary’s dick in his hand, and swallowed him down as far as he could go. It was easier than the first time but he was still really bad at it. Still, he did the best he could, and Gary certainly enjoyed it because he came rather quickly. 

 

“Cameron, what about STDs?” Gary asked once Cameron was lying next to him again.

 

“You’ve never been with anyone, Gary. You’re clean.”

 

“What about you?”

 

“I get tested once a month even though I haven’t been with anyone in quite some time. I’m clean.” Dr. Rosen made him get tested once a month. It was like he didn’t trust Cameron. Cameron would have gotten tested for Gary no matter what, but this seemed like overkill.

 

“I want to try what you just did.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“I think it might taste bad but it feels really good and I want you to feel that.”

 

“Okay, just try not to take too much in at once. Whatever you can fit into your mouth, you can use your hand on the rest of it.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Gary slid down the bed and grasped Cameron’s dick the same way Cameron did to Gary. Tentatively Gary stuck out his tongue and licked at the tip of Cameron’s dick. He didn’t make a face and Cameron considered it a huge success. He licked a few more times and then swirled his tongue around the tip. 

 

He wrapped his lips around the tip and then slowly slid his lips down until he choked. He backed off and then tried again. He slid his hand up so it met his lips. He found a repetitive motion that worked for him.

 

Cameron was propped up on his elbows watching intently. He reached a hand out to rest on the back of Gary’s head. “Gary, I’m close. If you don’t want a mouthful of come I suggest you pull off.”

 

Gary didn’t though and Cameron thought that he might not pull off, but then Gary’s hand was speeding up and he pulled off and stroked Cameron the way Cameron had shown him.

 

Cameron came, Gary’s name on his lips. Gary stroked him through it and pulled off when Cameron became too sensitive. He had remembered the exact way that Cameron had shown him to do it. 

 

He watched as Gary used a finger to scoop up some of the come and then licked his finger clean of it. He made a face and practically gagged. “That’s really gross. Cameron, how can you stand that?”

 

Cameron laughed. He couldn’t help it. It was the truth, after all. “It is gross. It could be worse, and you’ve really been enjoying it so I don’t mind doing it. You don’t have to though.”

 

“Okay. Good. I don’t want to.”

 

“I’m going to go clean off, okay? I’ll be right back.”

 

He grabbed a washcloth in the bathroom and cleaned himself off. He brushed his teeth for good measure and then gave himself a good once over in the mirror. He was smiling. He looked so happy and so relaxed. 

 

Cameron chortled and walked back out into the bedroom to Gary. 

 

*****

 

It was early enough in the morning that the team was hanging out in the break room, getting any drinks that they wanted, and then just catching up on what they had done over the weekend.

 

“So, Gary, did you and Cameron enjoy the rest of your weekend?”

 

“It was really good. We had sex.”

 

Cameron had just taken a sip of his coffee but he didn’t even choke on it like he might have at the beginning of the relationship. He had been prepared for this. He just rolled his eyes and took another sip. 

 

Bill came over to him and clapped him on the shoulder. “Took you guys long enough.”

 

Cameron shrugged. “Just wanted him to be ready.”

 

“So, was it a really good weekend like Gary said it was?”

 

Cameron grinned at Bill over his coffee cup and Bill laughed.

 

Nina left the break room in a huff. Dr. Rosen approached Gary. “Do we need to talk, or are you okay with everything?”

 

“I’m fine, Dr. Rosen. Everything with Cameron is good.”

 

Dr. Rosen turned to Cameron. “And you, Cameron? Everything okay on your end?”

 

“Yeah, Doc. We’re good.”

 

Rachel and Gary started talking about what had happened this weekend and Cameron left them to it. He grinned at Dr. Rosen as he walked out of the break room and whistled on the walk to his office.


	6. Chapter 6

They were sitting on a bench in the park, Cameron’s arm around Gary, and they were just relaxing. It was a beautiful day out and they were taking advantage of it. Next weekend, they would have Tyler and they would probably be out here with him, playing whatever game Gary was willing to play. Right now it was just the two of them, a quiet moment between them that Cameron enjoyed so much.

 

“Can we go for a walk?”

 

“Definitely.” They were in Central Park so there was plenty of space to walk. Gary took his hand and he people-watched as they walked. 

 

They needed more days like this. He saw Gary every day but they didn’t do things like this often. It was sad, really. 

 

There was a group of people walking towards them and Gary crowded Cameron in attempt to stay out of their way. One of the women in the group ran into Gary though. She didn’t say anything and just kept going.

 

“Hey. You just ran into me. That was rude.”

 

The woman stopped and turned around. “I’m sorry.” She didn’t look Gary in the eye as she said it. She reminded him of Gary.

 

Oh.

 

It was like his worst nightmare coming true.

 

“That’s okay. Thank you.”

 

“My name is Samantha. You can call me Sam.”

 

“I’m Gary and this is Cameron.”

 

Cameron’s phone rang. It was Tyler. He walked away from Gary and Sam so he could take the call. 

 

“Hey, Tyler. What’s up?”

 

“I know I’m supposed to stay with you guys next weekend, but there’s an optional school trip on Saturday that I want to go to and I’d rather have the whole weekend with you guys. Can I switch weekends? Is this early enough notice?”

 

Gary hated last minutes changes in Tyler’s schedule. 

 

“Yeah, it should be fine.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“I know. Don’t worry about. Listen, I have to go. I’m at Central Park with Gary and I’ve left him alone with a girl.”

 

“Okay. Love you, Dad.”

 

“Love you too.”

 

He hung up the phone with Tyler and headed back over to Gary and Sam. “You ready to go, Gary?”

 

“Yeah, okay. Bye, Sam.”

 

“Bye, Gary.”

 

“So, you and Sam have a lot in common.”

 

“I like her. She’s nice.”

 

Cameron put his arm around Gary’s shoulders and tried to ignore his unease. It’s not like Gary was going to see or talk to Sam ever again. It wasn’t going to be a problem. 

 

*****

 

Gary and Cameron were in the break room having lunch. Gary had been playing on his phone for most of it.

 

“Gary, who are you talking to?”

 

Gary never spent that much time on his phone. He didn’t really talk to anyone except for Cameron and his mother.

 

“Sam.”

 

“Who’s Sam?”

 

“You met her. Don’t you remember her from the park?”

 

“Wait. That girl who ran into you at Central Park weeks ago?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You’ve been talking to her this whole time?”

 

“Yes, Cameron. She wants to have dinner this weekend. I’m asking her if I can bring you too.”

 

Cameron looked up to find Bill and Dr. Rosen standing near the door, both of them had their eyes on him. It was a good thing they didn’t yet know that Sam was autistic too. 

 

“Gary, you met a girl?” Dr. Rosen asked.

 

“She’s like me.”

 

Dr. Cameron and Bill looked at him again.

 

“Yeah. She’s autistic too.” Cameron cleaned up his mess and then hurried out of the break room and to his office. Both Bill and Dr. Rosen knew his fear of losing Gary to someone who was like him, someone who could understand him.

 

Dr. Rosen followed him into his office. 

 

“You should talk to him, tell him how you feel.”

 

“I don’t want to influence him in any way. If he falls in love with someone else, then he does. I can’t prevent that from happening and I don’t want him to feel like I am. I don’t want to come off as jealous or possessive. I don’t want him to feel like I’m telling him who he can and can’t see.”

 

“Would you like me to talk to him?”

 

“No.”

 

“I’m sorry, Cameron. I do hope that it works out for you. Just talk to him.”

 

Dr. Rosen left his office and Cameron grabbed his keys. He needed to get out of the office for a bit. If he did decide to talk to Gary about this then he needed time to think about what he was going to say.

 

He found himself driving to Sandra’s house. He wasn’t sure why. She probably wasn’t even home.

 

There was a car in the driveway when he got there so he decided to stop and knock on the door.

 

“Cameron?”

 

“Hi, Sandra.”

 

“What are you doing here? Is Gary okay?”

 

“What? Oh, yeah. Gary is fine. I’m not actually sure why I’m here.”

 

Sandra nodded but didn’t invite him in.

 

“Sandra, I love your son. Everyone has always assumed that if something happened to our relationship then it would be my fault, that it would be something that I did. I always knew that wouldn’t be true. My biggest fear in this relationship was that Gary would meet someone like him, someone who could understand him in a way that I’ll never be able to.”

 

“He met someone?”

 

Cameron didn’t say anything.

 

“Okay. Come on in.”

 

Cameron followed Sandra into the house and sat at the kitchen table.

 

“Can I get you anything?”

 

“No thank you. I’m fine.”

 

Sandra sat down at the table across from him. “Okay, tell me what happened.”

 

“We were at Central Park a few weeks ago and a girl ran into him. They started talking and apparently he got her phone number because I just found out that he’s been talking to her for the past few weeks and she wants to have dinner with him now.”

 

“And you’re worried that he might fall for her.”

 

“More like terrified.”

 

“I don’t know if he’s told you, I know he hasn’t told me, but he loves you.”

 

“How can you be so sure of that?”

 

“Because he’s my son. You should just talk to him.”

 

“Dr. Rosen told me the same thing.”

 

“Cameron, I know I haven’t been your biggest fan, but I have seen the difference in Gary and I know you’re a big part of that. I don’t know if Gary has mentioned anything, but I haven’t given him a hard time about this since he broke his arm. I haven’t been as against it as I was. You really do love him, don’t you.”

 

“I do.”

 

Sandra took his hand in hers. “Then you should talk to him and tell him how you feel. You need to tell him your concerns.”

 

“Sandra, do you approve?”

 

Sandra gave his hand a squeeze. “Yes. And I want to start seeing the two of you more often.”

 

“Dinner this weekend?”

 

“I would like that.”

 

“I’ll have Gary let you know when. We can have it at our place. Gary and I can cook.”

 

“I’d like that. I’d like to meet your son too.”

 

Cameron smiled at her. “Thank you, Sandra.”

 

“Now go back to work. You and Gary have some talking to do.”

 

“Yes ma’am.”

 

Cameron left Sandra’s place feeling more hopeful about his relationship with Gary.

 

Gary was sitting in his office when he got back.

 

“Where did you go? We have to talk.”

 

Cameron shut his door knowing that it didn’t really matter because they would just have Rachel listen in and they would all know what was going on anyway.

 

“I was with your mother.”

 

“What?”

 

“I went to go see your mother. We’re having her over for dinner this weekend.”

 

“Does she like you now?”

 

“Yes she does.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“So what do we need to talk about?”

 

“Bill told me that you were jealous of Sam.”

 

Cameron sighed. Of course.

 

“That’s not entirely true.”

 

“Then why did Bill tell me that?”

 

“Gary, it’s no secret that when we started this relationship everyone thought it was a bad idea. They were all worried that I was going to hurt you. Nobody worried about you hurting me. Except I knew that I was never going to hurt you. I always felt like you would be the one to hurt me.”

 

“Hurt you? What do you mean?”

 

“I was worried that you would find someone who was autistic like you. I was worried that you would become friends and that you would then develop feelings for this person because this person would understand you in ways that I never could. I do my best, but there are just some things I will never understand.”

 

“Cameron,” Gary started but then trailed off.

 

“It’s okay. Take your time.”

 

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Gary tried to gather his thoughts and figure out what he wanted to say. Cameron kept quiet because he didn’t want to disrupt Gary’s thought process. He had no idea what Gary was thinking. He had no idea how Gary felt about this situation. 

 

“Cameron, I don’t have feelings for Sam. She’s nice and I just wanted to be friends. She could never understand me the way that you understand me. Nobody could. I know you aren’t like me and that it makes things difficult. It does for both of us. I know you don’t understand why I do certain things or the way I express certain things, but you accept them and you go along with them and you never make a big deal out of any of it. There haven’t been any big problems. I don’t need somebody more like me. I don’t want somebody more like me. I just want you.”

 

There were tears leaking from Cameron’s eyes. “Gary.” Cameron couldn’t remember the last time Gary had talked for so long without complaining about anything.

 

“Why are you crying? What happened?”

 

“They’re happy tears, Gary. You just made me really happy.”

 

“I told Sam I couldn’t be friends with her anymore.”

 

“You didn’t have to do that.”

 

“I know. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable though, okay?”

 

How many times had Cameron told Gary that exact thing? That was pretty much the sweetest thing ever.

 

They were sitting on the couch together but on opposite sides. Cameron scooted over to the other side of the couch and took Gary’s face in his hands and kissed him. Gary laughed and pushed him away.

 

“Cameron!”

 

“Sorry. I just love you.”

 

“Cameron, you always tell me to talk to you when something is bothering me. You should talk to me if something is bothering you.”

 

“You’re right, of course. It’s harder for me to say what’s on my mind. I’m not used to doing that. I’m going to try though, okay?”

 

“Good.”

 

“Hey, what do you say we get out of here early?”

 

“And go home?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Great. Get your stuff together and I’ll go tell Doc we’re taking off.”

 

He found everyone in Rachel’s office. He wasn’t surprised. He was surprised when Rachel came up to him and hugged him. Dr. Rosen shook his hand, and Bill clapped him on the shoulder.

 

“Right. Well. I’ll see you guys tomorrow then.”

 

Nobody said a word as he and Gary left the office. That had been a little strange but at least now it seemed the only person who still had issues with them was Nina. She was just going to have to deal with it. 

 

Once they were home, Cameron dragged Gary into the bedroom and onto the bed so they could make out. Cameron was happy to just make out with Gary but Gary was the one who started tugging at his shirt. 

 

Cameron laughed and pulled his shirt over his head and then took Gary’s off as well. Gary started undoing his pants too and Cameron let him do that. When Cameron was fully naked, he divested Gary of the rest of his clothes.

 

“So what do you want to do?” Cameron asked. 

 

“I want to try anal sex.”

 

Ever since their anniversary, they had been doing more and more exploring of each other in bed. Cameron hadn’t even fingered Gary yet though and now Gary wanted full penetration. It was something they had talked about a few times.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Cameron rummaged around in the bedside drawer for lube. “Condom or no condom?”

 

“We can try it without a condom.”

 

He knew Gary didn’t like messes and he was pretty sure Gary wasn’t going to like when Cameron came inside of him. It was one of the things they had talked about and Cameron had told Gary they could use condoms if he wanted to even though they didn’t have to. Gary had said they could try not using condoms sometimes too.

 

Cameron sat on his haunches, Gary’s legs spread wide around him. He was horribly nervous about this. He didn’t want to hurt Gary but he knew he was going to have to. That was something else they had already talked about. 

 

He made sure his fingers were well lubed. He let a finger run along his hole, letting Gary get used to his touch before he actually pushed it inside of him. He rubbed Gary’s stomach as he pushed just the tip of his finger into Gary. Gary stiffened but then relaxed. It was one of the other many things they had talked about.

 

He slowly eased his finger into Gary as he continued stroking his stomach. 

 

“Are you okay?” he asked when he had his finger inside of Gary.

 

“It feels weird.”

 

“Do you want me to keep going?”

 

“Yes.”

 

He slowly worked his finger in and out of Gary. He didn’t try to stretch him. Instead he tried to make it so that Gary enjoyed it as much as he could. The muscle loosened but Cameron was hesitant to add in a second finger. 

 

“Gary, I need to put another finger in. Do you think you’re ready for that?”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“This is going to hurt.”

 

“I know.”

 

Cameron started pushing in the second finger and Gary bit his lip. He no longer had an erection, though Cameron wasn’t really surprised about that. He wanted to help Gary feel more relaxed though so he took a soft Gary into his mouth as he worked his second finger further into Gary.

 

Gary let out a hiss of pain. He let Gary slip from his mouth. “I’m sorry.”

 

“I know. Don’t stop. It’s not bad.”

 

He took Gary back into his mouth and then pushed his finger further into Gary. Like with the first finger, he didn’t worry about stretching Gary but rather trying to give him as much pleasure as he could. 

 

It seemed to work. Gary started getting hard again so he let him fall from his mouth again and focused on what his fingers were doing. He worked Gary for a few more minutes and then started pushing a third finger in. 

 

It didn’t go in as easily as the first two but Gary seemed to have less of a problem with it. He stayed erect and didn’t complain. He crooked his fingers so he could hit Gary’s prostate. Gary cried out in pleasure.

 

“That was good.”

 

Cameron did that a few more times for Gary and then pulled his fingers out of him. He was still so nervous. He hadn’t even been this nervous his first time. 

 

He made sure he was liberally coated with lube and then lined himself up with Gary’s hole. He took a deep breath and eased the tip into Gary. He watched Gary’s face for any clues that he might gleam. 

 

Gary had his eyes closed and was working hard to keep his breathing steady and even. 

 

Cameron didn’t push all the way. Instead, he used tiny thrusting to ease himself further and further into Gary without too much pain.

 

Finally he was fully seated. “Are you okay?”

 

“It doesn’t hurt as much as you said it would.”

 

“I tried really hard to make sure it wouldn’t.”

 

Gary smiled at him. “You did a good job.”

 

Cameron leaned down and kissed him. “Are you ready for me to start moving?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Cameron position himself and Gary so that he could hit Gary’s prostate frequently and began a slow, gentle thrusting. It was hard. He had been waiting so long for this and it felt so good to be buried inside of Gary. He had to take it easy though for Gary’s sake. 

 

Gary’s head was thrown back against the pillow, his eyes closed, and his mouth open, little gasps and moans escaping every so often. 

 

He was going to come.

 

He slid a hand down between the two of them and started stroking Gary. He would make sure that Gary came first.

 

Gary was getting closer so he gripped him tighter and sped up his stroking, though he kept his thrusting the same.

 

Gary came, which was a relief because Cameron came immediately after. He wouldn’t have been able to hold out much longer.

 

He pulled out of Gary so he could collapse onto the bed next to him. He lay on his side so he could watch Gary as he came down from his orgasm. He saw Gary make a face and then squirm. Cameron had been right about Gary not liking the come inside of him.

 

“Do you want to shower? We can shower together. I can help you get clean.”

 

“Yeah. Okay.”

 

Gary got out of bed and Cameron followed him. He let Gary start the shower and set it to the temperature that he wanted and then got in with him. 

 

“Okay, Gary. Talk to me.”

 

“That was really good.”

 

“Yeah? Does that mean you’ll want to do it again?”

 

“Not tonight.”

 

“No, not tonight.”

 

Gary smiled and kissed him. 

 

“I love you,” Cameron whispered into his ear.

 

Gary kissed him again and then turned his attention back to washing himself. For a few minutes, Cameron could do nothing but watch. He was so incredibly lucky. He wasn’t going to forget that.

 

*****

Gary hadn’t been to one of Tyler’s baseball games yet. Tyler kept asking him because he really wanted Gary to see him play, but Cameron wasn’t sure how Gary would handle Tyler’s game. There tended to be a lot of people at the games and Cameron knew how Gary felt about crowds. If forced to be in one, he was usually highly uncomfortable and Cameron didn’t want to do that to him. 

 

After talking to Gary though they decided to go to the game. Gary really wanted to see Tyler play. Cameron kept them out of the stands though. They stood off to the side instead. Gary was more comfortable there.

 

Gary ignored his ability in favor of actually watching Tyler’s game. On the way over Cameron had explained the game to Gary and had explained the position that Tyler played. He still asked Cameron a lot of questions throughout the game, but he cheered whenever Tyler did anything good and booed when the other team scored.

 

It was really sweet. Cameron was going to have to bring Gary to more of Tyler’s games.

 

Tyler turned out to be the star of his game and as soon as he could get away from his teammates he ran over to Gary and the two of them hugged as Gary congratulated him.

 

“You did a good job, Tyler. It was a good game.”

 

Tyler beamed at Gary. “Thanks, Gary.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

Cameron was going to have to remember to bring a camera the next time so he could get a picture of Gary and Tyler together. He loved these two people more than anything. 

 

Cameron tugged Gary to him and gave him a kiss and then he pulled Tyler in for a hug. This was his family now. He loved them both and the two of them loved each other. It couldn’t be more perfect. 

 

He kissed the top of Tyler’s head. “Go and grab your stuff, Tyler, so that we can get out of here.”

 

It was Friday night and Tyler was spending the weekend with them.

 

Cameron put his arm around Gary’s shoulders as they waited for Tyler and Gary slipped an arm around Cameron’s waist. He was smiling.

 

“What are you so happy about?”

 

“I had fun. Can we do this again?”

 

“I would like that, and I know Tyler would like that too.”

 

“He was happy to see me here.”

 

“Of course he was. Tyler loves you, Gary.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Cameron, does Tyler have to listen to me?”

 

Cameron had been wondering when something like this was going to come up. He wanted Gary to be a big part of Tyler’s life, but he wasn’t sure how Tyler was going to take Gary as a parent. He would have to talk to him this weekend. He was going to have to talk Patti too.

 

“Gary, are you looking to have more of a say in Tyler’s life? Do you want to help make decisions and give out punishment if needed? Do you want to be a parent to him?”

 

Gary looked him in the eye. “Yes,” was all he replied with. Gary must have been thinking about this for a while. 

 

“I’ll need to talk to both Tyler and Patti, but I want that from you too. Are you sure you’re up for that kind of responsibility?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You’ve been thinking about this for a while, haven’t you.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The conversation stopped when Tyler joined them again. “So who wants pizza for dinner?”

 

“Can we bring it home?”

 

“Yes, Gary, we can bring it home.”

 

“Pizza is okay then.”

 

“One vote for pizza. Tyler?”

 

“Pizza’s always good.”

 

He ruffled Tyler’s hair and kissed Gary’s cheek. “I love when everything is easy like this.”

 

They ate pizza in front of the television and when they were done, Gary hid out in the bedroom for a while. He didn’t know if Gary just need some time to himself or if he was giving Cameron the opportunity to speak to Tyler. Probably both.

 

“Tyler, do you remember when I asked you how you felt about Gary being a permanent fixture in our lives?”

 

Tyler’s eyes widened in excitement. “Are you and Gary getting married?”

 

“Relax, would you? No, we aren’t. I just wanted to talk to you about something because things between us _are_ serious.”

 

“What’s up, Dad?”

 

“Gary wants to start having a more active role in your parenting.”

 

Tyler scrunched up his eyebrows. “Really?”

 

Cameron nodded. “Yeah.”

 

“I’ve thought about what it would be like if you guys married, but I never really imagined Gary in a parental role. I guess I never thought he would want to be.”

 

“That’s kind of how I saw it, but I guess it’s something he’s been thinking about for a while now.”

 

“Well this should be interesting.”

 

“You’re okay with it then?”

 

“Aren’t I not supposed to have a choice in the matter?”

 

Cameron shrugged. “True. I just want to make sure you’re still going to be okay with Gary if he grounds you or something.”

 

“It’s strange thinking about Gary grounding me.”

 

“Yes it is.”

 

“It’s okay though. I’m fine with it. I just want him to stay.”

 

“Yeah. Me too.”

 

“I guess I should head to bed and leave you two your privacy.” Tyler was smirking at him.

 

“That is not happening while you’re here.”

 

Tyler laughed and settled back against the couch. “So did the two of you finally go all the way?”

 

Cameron smiled.

 

“It’s about time.”

 

This was weird for most people, but he and Gary had been so open with each other and Gary spoke whatever was on his mind anyway, that open discussion about their sex life had begun to include Tyler as well. Tyler hadn’t freaked out on them once and Cameron thought that maybe the openness was doing Tyler some good.

 

“I wasn’t in any rush and you know that.”

 

“I know. So how was it?”

 

Cameron didn’t answer that. He found that he actually didn’t want to talk about it. He had been able to talk about everything else up to this point, probably in more detail than Tyler could ever want, but he didn’t want to tell Tyler about this. He knew there was the possibility that Gary might tell him about it, and that was fine, but Cameron was going to keep quiet on this one. 

 

“Wow. Okay. That’s good. I’m glad.”

 

“So how about you? Any special ladies or guys in your life?”

 

Tyler rolled his eyes. “There’s nobody, Dad.”

 

Cameron made a point to always ask about guys and girls, even though Tyler insisted it was just girls. Cameron told him that he had just been girls too and Tyler had stopped giving him a hard time about asking about both. 

 

Gary walked back in and sat down between the two of them. “Cameron, are you going to come to bed late so you can stay out here talking to Tyler?”

 

He pulled Gary towards him, pleased when Gary curled up against him. “Nope. I plan on going to bed with you.”

 

“Just try not to be too loud,” Tyler teased.

 

“Hey! I told you we wouldn’t be doing that.”

 

“We aren’t? Why not?” Gary pouted.

 

“Because Tyler is staying with us. He’s not here often enough that we need to figure out how to have quiet sex so we don’t wake him. We can wait.”

 

Tyler rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m going to bed. Goodnight guys.” He hugged both of them and headed for his bedroom. 

 

“I’m tired. Are you ready to call it a night?”

 

“Okay.”

 

Gary headed for the bedroom while Cameron locked up. 

 

When they were finally in bed together, Gary pulled him in for a lingering kiss. He could feel Gary’s erection pressed against him and knew that Gary was determined to have sex tonight.

 

“Gary, I thought I told you I didn’t want to do this while Tyler was here.”

 

“I don’t understand. He knows what we’re doing. He doesn’t care. You talk to him about the sex we have all the time.”

 

“Talking to him about is different than him actually hearing it.”

 

“I can be quiet.”

 

“Are you sure about that, Gary?”

 

Gary didn’t say anything. Instead, he slid one of his hands down Cameron’s body and cupped Cameron’s erection. Cameron let out a hiss. “You’re kind of evil, you know that?”

 

Gary pulled his hand away. “What? I’m not evil. That wasn’t a nice thing to say, Cameron.”

 

“No. That’s not what I meant. I was teasing. It just means that you can get me to do things that I know I shouldn’t do. I didn’t mean anything bad with that. You’re definitely not evil. Okay?”

 

Gary nodded and put his hand back on Cameron’s erection. Cameron chuckled. “I have an idea. Take off all your clothes, Gary.”

 

Gary was quick to comply, and Cameron hurried out of his clothes as well. He pulled out the lube and set it to the side. “I want to try things a little differently tonight, okay? If you get uncomfortable at all just let me know.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“I want you to lie on your stomach. You can bite the pillow to keep from making too much noise.”

 

Gary didn’t look too happy with the prospect of not facing Cameron during sex, which was actually a bit surprising considering how much Gary hated eye contact. 

 

“Hey, trust me?”

 

Gary nodded and lay down on his stomach.

 

Cameron coated his fingers with lube and started working Gary open. Sometimes it was nice that Gary didn’t like the foreplay and they could just skip ahead to sex, like right now, but there were other times he wished he could really take his time with Gary. 

 

“Condom or no condom,” Cameron asked as he finished stretching Gary. Sometimes Gary didn’t want to deal with the mess so they used condoms. Cameron would prefer not to, but he’d rather have a happy Gary.

 

“No condom.”

 

Cameron smiled and slicked himself up. He eased himself into Gary. When he was fully seated he stretched out over Gary and kissed his cheek. “Are you good?”

 

Gary peered up at him, smiling, and wiggled his butt. Cameron huffed causing Gary to shiver, and started thrusting slowly into Gary. Gary sighed and buried his head into the pillow, muffling his whimpers and his moans. Cameron kept his pace slow, letting the pleasure build and doing his best to keep either of them from making too much noise. 

 

Gary pulled his head out of the pillow and sought Cameron’s lips with his own. He was getting closer so he slid a hand under Gary’s body and down until he had a firm grasp on him, jerking him off as best as he could while they were in this position. He knew from experience that Gary could come fairly easily so it shouldn’t be much of a problem. 

 

He could feel Gary getting closer so he kept his mouth fused with Gary’s to keep him from crying out too much. He tried to anyway. Gary turned his head back into the pillow, the pillow absorbing his groan of pleasure as he came. Cameron came just a few seconds after Gary did. He was never far behind Gary, surprising as that was.

 

He let some more of his weight rest on Gary as he tried to catch his breath. That had been really good and a nice change from what they normally did.

 

“Cameron.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

Cameron rolled off of Gary and onto his back on the bed. Gary got up so he could go clean up. 

 

Cameron yawned and stretched, completely satisfied, as he waited for Gary to join him again. He was certain that they had been quiet enough so that Tyler wouldn’t suspect anything.

 

***

 

Gary was in the shower and Cameron was making breakfast for the three of them when Tyler walked in, a smirk on his face.

 

“What’s that look for?”

 

“I knew you couldn’t say no to Gary.”

 

Cameron sighed and shook his head. 

 

“If it makes you feel any better you guys were really quiet and I almost didn’t know.”

 

“Tyler.”

 

“What? I don’t care. Between you and Gary talking to me I know way more about your sex life than any child should know of their parents’ sex life. I’m kind of used to it now. Hearing you have sex isn’t going to scar me for life. Promise.”

 

“Just sit down and eat your eggs,” Cameron replied, setting the freshly cooked food down in front of him. Tyler rolled his eyes but sat and started eating. Gary joined them a few minutes later. 

 

They had planned a museum trip for the day and Cameron wanted to get there when they opened, hoping there would be less of a crowd, so he hurried everyone through their morning routines without making it so that Gary felt rushed. 

 

Like he had hoped, the museum was empty when they got there, which was a blessing in disguise since Gary was standing as far away from Cameron and Tyler as he could. Today was just one of those days where Gary needed his space. 

 

Cameron left him to it but as they made their way through the museum, Tyler gravitated closer and closer to Gary, finally grabbing his hand. Cameron held his breath as he watched, sure that Gary was going to pitch a fit, but all Gary did was glance down at their linked hands. It seemed that Gary really did understand what it meant to be a parent. Your own comforts were pushed to the side. 

 

Tyler held out his other hand for Cameron. Together, he and Gary walked Tyler through the rest of the museum. Gary kept to himself the entire time though. Cameron was used to that but it wasn’t something that Tyler experienced often. Tyler didn’t seem bothered by it, which was a really good thing if Gary was going to be a permanent part of their lives. 

 

When it was time for lunch they got food from the cafe on the grounds and relaxed. 

 

“Gary, what do you want to do next?” Tyler asked.

 

Gary had been using his ability and ignoring him and Tyler, which was something he really only did these days when he was feeling completely anti-social. He looked upset at having been interrupted and glared at Tyler. That was thankfully the worst of it.

 

“We can do whatever you want to do.”

 

Tyler looked like he wanted to hug Gary. Cameron didn’t blame him. He wanted to do the same thing. He had learned long ago that resisting that impulse on a day like this was in his best interests. 

 

Tyler turned to him with a sigh. “Maybe we should just go home.”

 

“Are you sure? We don’t have to.” 

 

Tyler shook his head. “It’s fine. We can just play video games.”

 

Cameron nodded but he wasn’t happy. This was supposed to be about Tyler this weekend. They didn’t get to see him often so when they did have him it was supposed to be all about him. He knew that sometimes being around other people was hard for Gary, but there were just times when he was going to have to make an effort. 

 

He would talk to Gary about it later though. No need to do that in front of Tyler. 

 

Back at home Gary hid out in the bedroom while he and Tyler played video games.

 

“Is he going to be okay?”

 

“He’ll be fine.”

 

“You don’t sound happy.”

 

“I’m not.”

 

“I don’t mind.”

 

“I know. And I don’t mind when it’s just me. I know it’s hard for him but he at least needs to make an effort. We all have to do things that make us uncomfortable and unhappy. Besides, he’s the one who wanted to be a parent.”

 

“Try not to be too hard on him.”

 

Cameron didn’t say anything because even if he wasn’t hard on Gary, there was a chance that this could go very badly anyway.

 

They took a break from video games long enough to have dinner. Gary ate as quickly as he could, ignoring him and Tyler, and then fleeing back to the bedroom.

 

“Should I put my headphones on tonight?”

 

“I don’t plan on yelling.”

 

“Doesn’t mean it won’t happen. You are really not happy right now.”

 

“It’s going to be fine, Tyler.”

 

Tyler looked like he didn’t believe him, but he didn’t say anything more. 

 

After dinner Tyler headed to his bedroom so Cameron was left with the choice to sit out here on his own or to join Gary in the bedroom and have this out now.

 

Cameron locked up for the night and headed to his bedroom to have it out with Gary. Gary was sitting on the bed lost in his own world. Cameron got ready for bed, despite the early hour. He didn’t know what was going to happen and he’d rather be comfortable and ready for bed. 

 

He crawled into bed and sat back against the headboard, waiting to see if Gary would say anything to him. He sat there for a few minutes, hoping that Gary would say something, before finally letting out a sigh. That got Gary’s attention.

 

“What?”

 

“We need to talk. Do you think you can put that away for a while?” Cameron asked, waving at whatever it was that Gary was watching.

 

“I don’t want to talk.”

 

“Gary.”

 

“No. I don’t want to talk. Just leave me alone.”

 

Cameron nodded and got off the bed. “Fine.”

 

He made the short trip to Tyler’s room, knocked on the door, and walked in when Tyler said it was okay. 

 

“Budge over,” he said, approaching the bed. 

 

Tyler moved over to make room for him. “You’re not even going to try and talk to him?”

 

“He doesn’t want to talk, so fine.”

 

“Are you going to stay here for a while or are you going to spend the night here?”

 

“Spend the night.”

 

Tyler turned his attention back to his book and left Cameron alone with his thoughts. He knew that Gary had his bad days and he respected that, but that didn’t mean Gary couldn’t try when it came to Tyler and that didn’t mean that they shouldn’t talk when necessary. He had to admit that he was hurt. 

 

He rolled onto his side so that he was facing away from Tyler. Tyler didn’t need to see how upset he was. He knew though. He rested a hand on Cameron’s shoulder and left it there. That was how Cameron fell asleep.

 

***

 

Tyler was jabbing him in the ribs. “Wake up. I’m hungry.”

 

Cameron groaned and pulled the covers over his head. 

 

“Dad, are you okay?”

 

Cameron sighed and pulled the covers down. “I’m fine. Just give me a couple of minutes to freshen up and I’ll make us some breakfast. Have you been out of the room yet?”

 

“I haven’t seen him yet.”

 

Cameron scrubbed a hand over his face and headed for Tyler’s bathroom. He freshened up and made his way to the kitchen. Both Gary and Tyler were sitting at the table. Tyler looked worried and Gary looked like somebody had kicked his puppy.

 

Cameron ignored them both so he could start cooking their breakfast. The silence was awkward and strained and Cameron hated it. He didn’t know how Gary felt about Cameron leaving him alone in bed last night. He shouldn’t have done that. He should have never done that.

 

He finished their food and brought everything to the table.

 

“Gary, I’m sorry. I should have never left you alone last night.”

 

“Are you mad? Did I do something wrong?”

 

“Gary, you wouldn’t even talk to me about what was bothering me last night. I didn’t appreciate the way you acted yesterday, and then you wouldn’t even talk to me. I’m not mad though. I’m just frustrated.”

 

“Okay. I’m going to take my breakfast into the bedroom with me.” Tyler grabbed his dish and practically ran to his bedroom.

 

“Cameron, I just needed some alone time yesterday. I don’t understand what I did wrong.”

 

“Gary, I understand that you need your space. I know that you need your alone time. But we don’t get to see Tyler that often and the times that he’s here should be spent focused on him. I’m not saying you need to spend every minute of the day with us, but I need you to make an effort when he’s here. You want more of a say in his life, right? Well that’s what parenting is about.”

 

Gary looked down at his lap. Cameron hated to see him like this. He scooted his chair over and gently titled Gary’s chin up to look at him.

 

“Gary, it’s okay. This is just something we’ll work on. But what I did, I’m so sorry for that. No matter what happens between us, I shouldn’t leave you alone like I did last night. I’m sorry for that.”

 

“Okay,” Gary replied. He moved his face away from Cameron’s hand and went back to eating his food.

 

“I thought we’d take Tyler to the park and play some ball with him. Does that sound okay?”

 

Gary nodded. Cameron didn’t know what else to say. He didn’t know how long things were going to be rocky between the two of them. He hoped it wouldn’t be for long. Hopefully they would talk again later after Tyler had left. 

 

At the park Cameron pitched the ball to Tyler for him to hit. Gary sat near where Tyler was, watching the two of them instead of busying himself with his ability. After a while, Gary got up and pulled his phone out. He wandered around nearby as he talked.

 

Tyler hit the ball a little further than he had been and Cameron had to run after it. When he was walking back there were a couple of guys harassing Gary. Cameron ran up to them just in time to find Tyler standing there and defending Gary. He caught them just in time to hear Tyler tell the guys to leave his dad alone. Cameron’s breath caught and he stopped. 

 

The guys walked off after just a couple of minutes and Cameron was relieved because he was still rooted to the spot, completely useless. 

 

“Are you okay, Gary?” Tyler asked.

 

“You told them I was your dad.”

 

Tyler shrugged. “Well you and my dad might not be married, but I hope that you will one day. I think you will one day. You’re important to me, Gary. I love you.” He hugged a surprised Gary and then went to pick up his bat before Gary had had a chance to hug him back.

 

Gary gaped at Cameron and he laughed. He couldn’t help it. He held out his arms for Gary and Gary smiled and practically ran to him for a hug. 

 

“You okay, Gary?”

 

“Tyler loves me.”

 

“I told you that he did. I love you too. We both love you.”

 

“I’m sorry, Cameron. I’ll try harder with Tyler. I don’t have to try with other people too, do I?”

 

“What did your mom say to you?” Cameron assumed that Gary had been on the phone with his mother. Since everyone got along now Gary sometimes went to his mother for advice. 

 

“She told me that I need to try harder too.”

 

“Are we good then? Are we okay?”

 

“Yes.”

 

He cupped Gary’s face and kissed him. 

 

“Are you ready to get out of here?”

 

“Please.”

 

“Tyler, you ready to get out of here?”

 

“Yeah. Sure.”

 

As they were heading back to his car it hit him that Gary had apologized to him. He couldn’t recall a time that Gary had ever apologized. Cameron smiled to himself. He and Gary had just survived their first fight.


	7. Chapter 7

A while back Dr. Rosen had decided that once a month the team needed to get together and have some fun. An outing. Today was that time of the month. It was a warm summer day. Perfect actually, so Cameron wasn’t complaining. 

 

They were in the city and it was nearly time for lunch so they were walking around and trying to decide where to eat. They were huddled outside a cafe, debating on whether or not they wanted to eat there, when Cameron noticed a few people he recognized, people he knew from his time in the military.

 

They were the kind of people that he wasn’t proud to have once called friends and they certainly weren’t people he wanted the group to meet. Especially Gary. 

 

“I’ll be right back,” he told Gary and walked away from the group to meet some people from his past. He didn’t want to do this but they had noticed him and he was better off going to see them without the team.

 

“Madison, Bradstone, how are you?” Cameron had just realized that there was another problem he was going to have that might cause an issue. This wasn’t good.

 

Bradstone held out his hand to Cameron. “We’re actually both Bradstone now.”

 

Cameron shook his head. “Sorry. I can’t touch you, but congratulations on the wedding.”

 

“Does this mean no hug for me?” Madison asked.

 

“Yeah. Sorry.”

 

Bradstone laughed. “You got some possessive girlfriend or something, Hicks?”

 

Cameron laughed wryly. “Something like that.”

 

Bradstone stepped closer to Cameron. “Is she hot? Tell me she’s hot. Why the fuck else would you still be with someone who monitors everything you do if she’s not hot?”

 

“It’s a bit more complicated than that, and I wish I could stay and talk, but I only came over here to say hi. I’m actually out to lunch with my coworkers.”

 

Bradstone took in the group that Cameron had motioned to. “Oh, I see. You must be fucking that brunette. Definitely hot. Definitely worth the trouble. I say keep her around for a while.”

 

Cameron snorted. “Whatever you say, Bradstone. I’ll see you guys later. And again, congratulations on getting married.”

 

Cameron walked back to Gary and the rest of the group. He couldn’t believe that he had actually used to be friends with those people. He had never seen things the way that they had. He had never participated in their cruelty. He hadn’t exactly helped people either. If he had then he would have risked the wrath of their teasing, and beatings, and torment.

 

He liked to think he was a better person now. Sometimes he wasn’t so sure.

 

Gary tried to take his hand once he was back with the group.

 

“Not now, Gary.”

 

Gary looked confused and hurt. Enough emotion was on his face that the rest of the group could probably see it too. Cameron didn’t know what to say to make things right with Gary. He wasn’t even sure if he knew how to explain it to Gary.

 

He looked over his shoulder and the Bradstones were still standing there.

 

Rachel took Gary’s arm and linked it with her own. They started walking into the cafe.

 

“Gary, there are people in this world who don’t like men who love other men. They think it’s odd and they think it’s disgusting. They think it’s wrong and they think it’s immoral. Some of the people who think this way are nasty about it and can become very dangerous. Cameron wouldn’t hide his relationship with you unless it was necessary. You should know that, Gary.”

 

Gary didn’t look appeased. 

 

They stood in line for their food. “Gary, I’m sorry. Rachel is right. I would never hide our relationship if I didn’t think it was necessary. I’ve never hidden our relationship Gary. I wouldn’t want to. You’re amazing, Gary.”

 

“I know. You’re amazing too.”

 

Cameron chuckled. “I know, Gary. We’re all amazing because of our abilities. I think you’re amazing without them though.”

 

“No. No, Cameron. Not your abilities.”

 

“What?” Cameron breathed out.

 

“You’re amazing without your abilities.”

 

“Wait, do you mean that?”

 

“Cameron, I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. You should know that. I trust you. You’re amazing, okay?”

 

Cameron let out a shaky breath. “Shit,” he muttered. He knew that the Bradstones hadn’t left yet, but he couldn’t stand here and do nothing after what Gary had just said. It had been so sweet.

 

He took Gary’s face in his hands and kissed him.

 

“I thought we couldn’t do this right now.”

 

“You can’t say something as sweet as that and not expect me to do something about it.”

 

He kissed Gary again and then wrapped his arms around him in a hug. “You’re the best.”

 

“I know.”

 

They got their food and found a table for the six of them. He let Gary sit practically on top of him. He knew that this could only lead to trouble with the Bradstones, but Gary was hard to resist. He ignored the Bradstones for now and instead joined in on the conversation around the table, which happened to be about the Bradstones. Cameron was being grilled. 

 

“Look, I know them from my military days. They aren’t nice people, especially the guy. And I guess the two of them are married now. They aren’t people I really want to talk about. They are people I hate to admit that I used to be friends with. I was never like them, but I never stopped them and that’s just as bad.”

 

“Mom never thought I would get married,” Gary announced to the table. It had absolutely nothing to do with their conversation but it must have been something that was on Gary’s mind.

 

Nina frowned at them. “Are the two of you getting married?”

 

“No, Nina. Don’t be silly.” Gary looked unhappy though and Cameron didn’t know if it was still from Cameron not holding his hand earlier or if it had something to do with getting married.

 

“Gary, do you want to get married?”

 

Nina laughed before Gary could answer.

 

“I’m sorry, Nina, do you have a problem?”

 

“Face it, Gary, whatever the two of you have now, it isn’t going to last. Cameron is never going to marry you. You’re just not the long haul kind of guy.”

 

Gary’s face fell. “No. Nina, you’re wrong. Cameron said he wants to keep me around. Tyler said the same thing.” He looked like he didn’t believe what he was saying though.

 

Nina snorted and Cameron stood up and turned to Dr. Rosen. “Doc, you need to get her to stop doing this. If she can’t stop harassing us, then I want her off the team and I will fight for that.” Cameron turned to Gary. “Come on, Gary. Let’s go talk outside.” Gary got up and Cameron led him out of the cafe.

 

Once they had some relative quiet away from the team, Cameron stopped and grasped Gary’s face in his hands. “Listen to me, Gary. Nina is wrong and you know that she’s wrong. I love you so much. With everything that we’ve been through how can you possibly think that I wouldn’t want to keep you around? I would marry you in a heartbeat, Gary. I just want to make sure that it’s something you’re ready for. Marriage is a big step. And for the record, Tyler is okay with us getting married. He wants to be the flower girl.”

 

Gary chuckled. “Cameron, be serious.”

 

“I am. Tyler came up to me and told me that he wanted to wear a dress and be the flower girl.”

 

Gary smiled, tilted his head up and kissed Cameron. Cameron moved one of his hands to the back of Gary’s head and moved his other hand down to Gary’s hip.

 

A throat cleared from behind them and Cameron pulled away from Gary. He had forgotten about Bradstone in his haste to put Gary at ease. He was going to pay for it now.

 

“Gary, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Stay close to me for now, but when I tell you to run, you run. You go back inside the cafe and you get Bill. Do you understand?”

 

“You say run and I go get Bill.”

 

“That’s right. And don’t talk to these guys either. Let me do all the talking.”

 

He pulled Gary against him and turned to where he had heard Bradstone, because he was sure the person who had cleared his throat was Bradstone. Bradstone wasn’t alone and he wasn’t just with his wife either. Cameron was good, but he honestly didn’t know if he could take that many people at once.

 

Cameron checked behind him to make sure they weren’t surrounded. “Gary, go. Go get Bill. Run.”

 

As soon as Gary moved the group advanced on them. They tried to go after Gary, but Cameron at least managed to keep them off of Gary long enough for him to run away.

 

Cameron held his own for as long as he could, but there were just way too many of them. Had Bradstone really been friends with so many people back in the day? Had things been this bad for other guys in the military? He knew things had been bad, but he just hadn’t realized how much.

 

They managed to get Cameron on the ground, pinned down, left defenseless. He could only hope that Bill and the team were on the way.

 

It was Bradstone who leaned over him, a sneer on his face. A solid punch to his face and Cameron found darkness, blissfully unaware of any further torment to his body.

 

*****

 

Yelling. That was what he woke up to. He recognized that voice. It was Gary’s. He was upset. He was more upset than Cameron had ever known him to be.

 

Gary was yelling about Cameron not being awake yet and Cameron being hurt, and then there were words that made Cameron open his eyes.

 

“Is this what love feels like? I don’t like it. I don’t want it.”

 

“Gary,” Cameron gasped out. Gary turned to look at him. He looked so sad and confused. He turned and ran out of the room.

 

There wasn’t enough oxygen in the room.

 

He tried to sit up but a firm hand on his chest kept him in place. Dr. Rosen went after Gary and Cameron turned his head to see who had his hand on him.

 

“Tyler.”

 

When Tyler was sure he wasn’t going to move, he pulled his hand off of his chest and held up a cup of water with a straw for him to drink. Cameron took a few sips and then stared out the door that Gary had run out of.

 

“He’s just frustrated, Dad. He’s been worried sick about you and he doesn’t really know how to handle it.”

 

“And he doesn’t want to be in love with me.” It was hard to say that out loud. It hurt so much. He didn’t know he could feel so much pain.

 

“Dad, you’re being ridiculous. You know he doesn’t mean it. You need to give him a chance to get used to it. He may have been in love with you this entire time, but he might not have realized that that’s what it was he was feeling.”

 

Cameron bit back a sigh because he knew that Tyler was right. “How are you doing?”

 

“I’m not the one in the hospital bed. Do you remember what happened?”

 

“I remember not feeling this bad while I was conscious. They must have done a lot worse after they knocked me out.”

 

“They did. You’re gonna be in the hospital for a while longer. You’re lucky, Dad. They were worried that you were going to die.”

 

Cameron’s eyes widened. “It was that bad?”

 

Tyler nodded.

 

“Tyler, I’m so sorry.”

 

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be okay. It’s Gary that I’m worried about.”

 

Cameron didn’t get a chance to respond because Dr. Rosen walked back into the room with Gary close behind him.

 

“I’ll let you talk to Gary.”

 

“What? Wait, Tyler, no. You don’t have to go.”

 

“I think I should. You two should really talk.”

 

“Just give me a few minutes with them. Take the others out with you.” The entire team had been sitting there quietly while he and Tyler had been talking.

 

Tyler nodded and he and the team left the room, leaving him and Gary alone. 

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Gary was fidgeting more than he normally did. Clearly he was still stressed about Cameron being hurt. Or maybe he was stressed about his feelings for Cameron. Most likely it was both.

 

“Gary, come sit with me.”

 

Gary shook his head. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought. Maybe he shouldn’t be surprised by that.

 

“Gary, I’m okay. I’m going to be just fine. I’m so sorry to have put you through all of this though. I’m so sorry.”

 

Gary still didn’t speak and Cameron was starting to feel sleepy. They probably had him heavily medicated. They must have in order for him to be feeling things decently. He was in pain but it could have been a lot worse. He hoped he wasn’t going to have a problem with pain meds after this. He didn’t think he would. Gary would keep him honest. Gary would never let him go back to his old ways.

 

“Gary, I have to go back to sleep now. I hope you’ll stay with me.” He held his hand palm up on the bed, hoping that Gary would take it before he fell asleep.

 

“I love you,” he whispered as his eyes closed on their own. 

 

“I love you too,” Gary murmured as he took Cameron’s hand into his own.

 

***

 

Gary was lying next to him when he woke up next. He was asleep. It must have been late. Nobody else was in the room with him. He wondered if Nina had pushed any of the staff in order for Gary to be allowed to sleep here with him. 

 

He was dressed in his pajamas and was curled up against Cameron, one arm thrown across him. He wanted to wake Gary up and just cuddle him. He wouldn’t do that to Gary though.

 

Instead, he thought about what had happened before he had fallen asleep. Gary had told him that he loved him. It had felt like a dream, and with all the medication he was on he was a little worried that maybe it had been a dream. 

 

Yet after everything that Cameron had put Gary through, Gary was lying here in bed with him. It must have really happened. Gary must have actually told him that he loved him.

 

Cameron closed his eyes, a smile on his face. Sleep came easily.

 

***

 

People were talking. Gary was still lying next to him, but his arm was no longer around Cameron. Cameron missed that. It had been comforting. 

 

He didn’t want anyone to know he was awake yet so he couldn’t say anything. He listened instead.

 

They were talking about Cameron. Everyone except Gary. They were talking about Cameron’s future with the group. He was surprised they were doing it in front of Gary. They should know that Gary would tell him anything they said, even if they had told Gary not to. They should also know that Gary didn’t like when people talked about Cameron in front of him.

 

Gary took Cameron’s hand in both of his. He was just holding it. He didn’t know that Cameron was awake. He wondered if Gary would let everyone know he was awake if he squeezed Gary’s hand. He decided to try it anyway.

 

He couldn’t see it but he was pretty sure that Gary smiled because he responded with a squeeze of his own. He kept quiet though. He seemed to understand that Cameron didn’t want anyone to know he was awake.

 

They continued talking about Cameron and he was surprised that Gary didn’t interrupt them. 

 

“Gary, it’s time for lunch. Let’s go.”

 

“No. I want to stay here with Cameron.”

 

“Gary, it’s your lunch time. If you don’t have lunch now you’re going to be off schedule.”

 

“I don’t care.”

 

They couldn’t force Gary to have lunch, and they didn’t. He didn’t know if anyone else had stayed behind so he didn’t open his eyes for a few minutes.

 

“Cameron, everyone is gone.”

 

Cameron opened his eyes and found Gary looking down at him with a smile on his face.

 

“Why didn’t you want anyone to know that you were awake?”

 

“I didn’t feel like talking to anyone.”

 

“But you wanted to talk to me.”

 

“Always.”

 

“You heard what they were saying about you.”

 

“I’m surprised you didn’t stop them.”

 

Gary didn’t say anything.

 

“Wait, you’re worried that they’re right. You’re worried about how well I’m going to heal from my injuries.”

 

“You almost died.”

 

“I know.”

 

“If you died it would be so much worse than when Anna died. I don’t want you to die, Cameron.”

 

Cameron wanted to put his arms around Gary, but it hurt to move that much.

 

“Gary, will you put your arm around me?”

 

Gary rolled onto his side and put his arm around Cameron. 

 

“Gary, are you going to be okay?”

 

“I don’t like that you’re hurt.”

 

“I know it’s hard. I know how bad it is because of your feelings for me.”

 

“That’s what love feels like.”

 

“That’s part of it, but don’t forget about all the good stuff too. Like when we go on dates or when we have sex or when we’re laying in bed together and I’m holding you.”

 

“When we hold hands.”

 

“Exactly. Enjoying the happy stuff means that you have to deal with the crappy stuff like this. That’s just part of it.”

 

“I don’t like it.”

 

“Nobody likes it. I hate seeing you hurt. I hated when people were giving you a hard time about our relationship. I saw how much pain it caused you and there was nothing I could do about it.”

 

Gary didn’t say anything. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Cameron tried again.

 

“I did a lot of yelling. I cried. Dr. Rosen and Tyler both talked to me. Tyler made a lot more sense.”

 

Cameron smiled and turned his head so he was facing Gary. Gary leaned in and kissed him. 

 

“Gary, did you mean what you said last night? When you said you loved me?”

 

“I do. I love you. I didn’t know that’s what it was, but I do now. I really love you, Cameron.”

 

“It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The medication was starting to pull Cameron under again. “Gary, I have to go to sleep again.”

 

“Sleep is good. You need it. You will have to stop the pain medication soon though.”

 

“I know. I’m not worried. I know you’ll get me through it.”

 

Gary kissed his cheek. “Sleep, Cameron. I’m not going anywhere.”

 

*****

Cameron was relieved to be home. His hospital stay had been way too long. He wanted nothing more than to shower, to put something comfortable on, and to sleep in his own bed.

 

He had to spend some time shooing everyone out of his place, assuring them that he and Gary were just fine and didn’t need any help.

 

Finally they were alone.

 

He tried to take off his shirt but he hissed in pain.

 

“What’s wrong?” Gary asked. After Gary had gotten over the initial shock of Cameron being in the hospital he had become something of a mother hen, always fussing over Cameron. Cameron had to admit that he was enjoying it.

 

“I want to take a shower but I don’t think I’m going to be able to. I can’t even get my shirt off without there being pain.” Cameron was on the minimum amount of pain pills possible. Gary had insisted and Cameron hadn’t bothered fighting him on it. He was going to have to suffer and it was his fault.

 

“Let me help. I can help.”

 

Gary helped Cameron out of his shirt and pants and then stripped off his own clothes. They got into the shower together and Gary washed every inch of Cameron.

 

Cameron sighed. “You’re really good at this, Gary. I’m really enjoying this.”

 

When Cameron was clean and rinsed off he opened his eyes. Gary was hard.

 

“Gary, do you want me to take care of that?”

 

“I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

 

Cameron held out his hand. “Pour some shower gel into my hand. I can take care of you. I want to take care of you like you’ve been taking care of me.”

 

Gary poured some shower gel into his hand and put the bottle away. Cameron backed Gary up against the wall and started stroking him. Gary closed his eyes and rested his head against the shower wall, a smile on his face.

 

Gary liked sex. Gary really liked sex. They had sex a lot, and Gary had now been without it for the couple of weeks that Cameron was in the hospital. 

 

It didn’t take long for Gary to come.

 

“I missed that.”

 

“I know. I’m sorry. I can’t wait until I’m better so that we can do more.”

 

“We should get you out of the shower, Cameron. I need to dry you off so we can put your pajamas on.”

 

Cameron groaned. “I don’t want to put clothes on.”

 

“My mom is going to be coming over. You need to put clothes on.”

 

“How about just the bottoms. They’re easier.”

 

Gary turned the water off and helped Cameron out of the shower. He dried him off and then helped him into the bedroom. He pulled out pajama bottoms for him and helped him into them. He helped Cameron into bed.

 

“Is there anything I can get for you?”

 

“If you could just put something on the TV and make sure that there is always water here for me to drink.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“And you know how often I get my pain pills, right?”

 

“Yes. You don’t get to keep them. I’m in charge of them.”

 

“I know. That’s fine by me, Gary.”

 

“My mom will be here soon. She wants to help. I think you should get some sleep now.”

 

Cameron’s eyes were already closing of their own accord. “I think that’s a really good idea, Gary.”

 

He felt lips pressed against his own and then Cameron was asleep.

 

***

 

His room was a lot more crowded than it had been before he had fallen asleep.

 

“Tyler?” he asked before even opening his eyes.

 

“Yeah, Dad. I’m here. So is Mom.”

 

“And my mom is here too.”

 

“It’s a party. Why didn’t anyone wake me?”

 

“Dad, your eyes still aren’t even open yet.”

 

“Oh. Right. Okay.”

 

Cameron forced his eyes open. Everyone was standing around the bed and watching. Gary moved to sit in the bed next to Cameron.

 

“Dad, I’m supposed to stay with you guys this weekend and I still want to but my friends want to go to a movie Friday night. Is it okay if I go?”

 

Cameron was way too out of it to be bothered with this right now. He was about to tell Tyler that when Gary spoke up. “Does Cameron know these people?”

 

“He knows some of them. Mom knows the rest.”

 

“They’re good people, Gary,” Patti added in.

 

“I go to sleep at nine thirty.”

 

“I know, Gary. Wait. Are you telling me you want me home before nine thirty?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“But that’s not fair!” Tyler complained.

 

“You want to stay here this weekend and Cameron is still hurt.”

 

Tyler opened his mouth and then closed it again. He looked to Cameron for help but he wasn’t going to find any. Gary had wanted a bigger part in Tyler’s life and Tyler had known this was going to happen.

 

“Fine. I’ll call my friends and see if they’re willing to go earlier.” Tyler stormed out of the bedroom.

 

“He’s mad at me.”

 

“Kids will always be mad at you when you try and set strict rules. He still loves you though. And you did an excellent job, Gary. You should be proud of yourself.”

 

Both women agreed with him and were telling Gary how great of a job he had done when Tyler walked back in the bedroom. 

 

“They won’t change the time they’re going. I told them my dad wanted me home early because my other dad was still recovering and needed to rest in bed.”

 

“How did that go?” Cameron asked even though it was clear exactly how well that had gone over. Gary needed to hear it though.

 

“They had a lot of nasty things to say.”

 

“Tyler, did your friends not like that Cameron and I are together?”

 

“No they didn’t.”

 

“I’m sorry. This is my fault.”

 

Tyler sat on the bed near Gary. “Gary, this is not your fault. I know you recently discovered that not everyone is okay with the relationship that the two of you have. They’re just ignorant.”

 

“Cameron, is Tyler going to be bullied in school now?”

 

Cameron and Tyler looked at each other.

 

“I probably will be, Gary.”

 

Cameron couldn’t wait until he was off the pain pills and feeling better because he was ready to go to sleep again even though he had only just woken up. He couldn’t sleep now though. 

 

He couldn’t keep his eyes open. He tried so hard. This was a conversation he needed to be a part of. He couldn’t leave Gary and Tyler like this.

 

***

 

It was dark when he woke up again. He could feel Gary next to him. He tried to get out of bed so he could pee and he let out a groan.

 

“Cameron?” Gary asked, sleepily. 

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I just need to pee.”

 

“It’s okay, Cameron. Let me help you.”

 

Gary helped him up and even stayed next to him while he peed. While he was here he decided to brush his teeth. He hadn’t been eating much but he had been sleeping a lot.

 

“Gary, what happened after I fell asleep?”

 

“Patti, Mom, and Tyler all talked about what would happen to Tyler at school and how they were going to handle things. They said they would talk to you when you were feeling better.”

 

“Did they involve you in this conversation?”

 

“Yes. I’m not supposed to talk to you about it until you’re feeling better. You’re supposed to be resting.”

 

“That’s fine, Gary.”

 

Cameron slid back under the covers and Gary got in next to him.

 

“How are you feeling about everything, Gary? I know this is a lot to take in. I don’t want you to feel too overwhelmed.”

 

“It is a lot. I’m worried about Tyler and what’s going to happen to him at school. I’m worried about if you’re going to heal well. I’m worried about if you’re in too much pain. Cameron, it is a lot.”

 

“Come here, Gary.” Cameron held his arms open as best as he could. Gary was hesitant about moving closer to Cameron.

 

“Hey, don’t worry about it. You’re not going to hurt me. Just come here.”

 

Gary curled up against Cameron.

 

“I’m really sorry that you have to deal with all of this, Gary. I wish you didn’t have to.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I wish I could make you feel better.” He kissed the top of Gary’s head and Gary tilted his head up so Cameron could kiss him properly.

 

He wasn’t going to be able to do this. He didn’t have the energy. If Gary wanted to take charge though, they could do it. In fact, Gary hadn’t topped yet. Now was the perfect time for Gary to try.

 

“Gary, I’m not going to be able to do this. I think you should do it.”

 

“You want me to top?”

 

Cameron had taught Gary as much of the slang for various sex things that he could. 

 

“Yes, I do. I don’t have the energy to top. Or we could do this so I’m on my back and you’re on top of me. I think I’d rather you top though. Don’t you want to try?”

 

“I do.”

 

“Good. How do you want to do this? I can roll onto my side and you can be behind me.”

 

“We can try. I need to get the lube. Cameron, I don’t want to hurt you.”

 

“Don’t worry, Gary. I’ll be fine. You know what to do. I’ve done it to you many times.”

 

He rolled onto his side as Gary got up and got the lube. “Condom?”

 

“I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Gary joined him on the bed again and he heard the cap of the lube open and knew that Gary was coating his fingers. He felt Gary’s finger brush against him.

 

“Cameron, this is dirty.”

 

“I would do it for you if I could, Gary. You can always wash your hand after we’re done.”

 

The tip of Gary’s finger breached him and Cameron took a deep breath. 

 

“Gary, you don’t have to go as slow with me as I do with you, okay?”

 

Gary pushed his finger the rest of the way in and Cameron let out a groan. 

 

“Does it hurt?”

 

“No, it feels really good. Keep going.”

 

Gary worked the finger in and out of him the way that Cameron did to him and then pushed a second finger into him.

 

Gary worked his fingers around and found Cameron’s prostate. Cameron groaned. “That is so good, Gary.”

 

“Do you need another finger?”

 

“No. I’m good. I just need you.”

 

Gary’s fingers left him and he wanted to whimper even though he knew something better was coming. He felt Gary bump against his entrance and he forced himself to relax. 

 

“Cameron, do you want me to go slow or fast?”

 

“Gary, I want you to push all in at once.”

 

It was painful, but he was going through worse right now. This was nothing compared to the pain he was still dealing with.

 

Gary stopped moving once he was fully seated in Cameron. He felt so full. It was amazing.

 

“Move, Gary. Please.”

 

Gary was uncoordinated but he was hitting Cameron’s prostate and he was so focused on what he was doing. He wanted to make sure that it was good for Cameron.

 

“You’re amazing, Gary. We need to do it this way more often.”

 

“Not too often. I like the other way too.”

 

Cameron took himself in his hand and began stroking. He was so close and Gary was becoming more coordinated as he continued thrusting. Gary was going to be really good at this in just a short amount of time. 

 

Cameron came hard and he knew Gary was right behind him. He couldn’t move though. Just that little bit of exertion had worn him out and he passed out.

 

***

 

“Cameron.”

 

Cameron groaned.

 

“Cameron, wake up.”

 

“I don’t want to.”

 

Gary lay down on top of him and Cameron let out a hiss of pain.

 

Gary shot off of him. “I’m sorry. I hurt you.”

 

Cameron sighed and pulled himself up into sitting position. “I’m okay, Gary. What do you want? Why do I have to wake up?”

 

Gary sat down on the bed next to him. “Because I was worried about you.”

 

“Worried about me? Why? Nothing has changed.”

 

“You fell asleep right after sex last night and you’ve been asleep since then.”

 

Cameron eyed the clock in the bedroom. It was late afternoon. He had slept for way too long.

 

“Sorry, Gary.”

 

“I know you’re supposed to sleep to heal but that seemed like a lot of sleeping.”

 

“No, you’re right. I should try and stay awake for a while now.”

 

“Do you want half of your dose of pain pills?”

 

“We can try that. I’m sorry I fell asleep right after last night.”

 

“It’s okay. Are you hungry at all?”

 

“No.”

 

“You should eat something.”

 

“I don’t know, Gary.”

 

“I can make you some soup.”

 

He really didn’t want any food but he knew that Gary was just looking out for him.

 

“Okay, Gary.”

 

Gary kissed his cheek and left the bedroom. Cameron wished he could lie back down and go to sleep. He was going to take a long time to heal. They had really done a number on him. He was lucky he wasn’t in a coma. He really was lucky to be alive.

 

He hoped he would get past this. He hoped that he and Gary could get past this.

 

*****

 

Cameron was sitting at the kitchen table with Gary eating breakfast. It had been a long recovery process and he still wasn’t at his best, but at least he could take his meals at the table with Gary.

 

He hadn’t had a problem with pain pills because Gary had been very stingy about giving him any. Cameron had had to suffer through a lot of pain. 

 

Gary was going back to work today. Dr. Rosen was on his way to pick him up.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay with me going back to work today?”

 

“Yeah. I can handle things around here today. I’ll miss you though.”

 

Gary smiled and went back to his food. Gary had been amazing this whole time. He had taken such good care of Cameron. He had taken charge and nobody had tried to take that away from him. 

 

He was going to miss Gary hovering around him and making sure he had everything that he needed and keeping track of how many pain pills he had taken. He was done with those though. Thankfully. There was still some pain, but it was more manageable. 

 

“Dr. Rosen is here.”

 

Gary got up, grabbed his lunch, and headed for the door. Cameron got up and followed him there. “I’ll see you later, Gary. Have fun.”

 

“If you need me to come home early I will.”

 

Cameron leaned in and kissed him. “I’ll be fine. You go back to work. Have fun. I’ll text you and keep you updated on how I feel, okay?”

 

“Good.”

 

He locked the door after Gary and cleaned up his dishes from breakfast. He didn’t know how he was going to spend the day. He couldn’t sleep. He could watch TV, but he had done a lot of that when he wasn’t sleeping. He kind of wanted to go back to work. 

 

Their place was spotless so he couldn’t clean. He could read for a while, but that still left him with most of the day to kill. He could drive to the office to have lunch with Gary but Gary would probably just yell at him. He wasn’t supposed to sleep anymore but he was still supposed to rest. 

 

He should be happy that he was well enough to be bored. Slowly he had been told exactly how bad things had been for a while. He was surprised by how well Gary had handled everything because Cameron wasn’t sure he would have been able to handle things that well.

 

He was going to take Gary on another vacation. He was going to take them away for like a week and he was going to take them somewhere where they were waited on hand and foot. He didn’t want Gary to do a thing.

 

That was how he could spend his day. He would find the perfect place for them and make the reservations. 

 

Glad he actually had something to do today, he set up his laptop in the kitchen and got to work. He would make it a vacation that Gary would never forget.


	8. Chapter 8

Cameron was on edge. Gary had been having a bad week and Cameron was the one suffering from it. Gary hadn’t wanted to be touched, not even a hand on his shoulder. Gary had barely talked to him at all. 

 

Cameron had known that this would be a possibility, though he never really imagined that it would last for a week. And it could continue on. 

 

There wasn’t really much he could do about it. If Gary didn’t want to be touched then Cameron wasn’t going to try and push him into it. 

 

He was sitting in Dr. Rosen’s office right now.

 

“A week?”

 

“A week.”

 

“It’s starting to affect you. I did warn you that this might be your relationship.”

 

“Which would have been fine if it was always this way. Gary has been really affectionate and now that he’s not…”

 

“Well, Cameron, I’m going to tell you what I always tell you. You need to talk to Gary about this.”

 

“How?”

 

“As always, just tell him how you feel.”

 

“I don’t want him to feel like I’m forcing him to accept a hug from me or something.”

 

“I know that and he knows that too, but you can always remind him of that. You need to talk to him.”

 

Cameron put his face in his hands and groaned. He knew he was going to have to talk to Gary. He just didn’t know how he was going to talk to Gary when Gary didn’t want to talk to him. 

 

“Would you like to do it in a couple’s session?”

 

Cameron sighed and lifted his head. “No. I should probably talk to him about this one on one. If he’ll talk to me. That’s been the other problem.”

 

“I think if you tell him how important it is that you talk, then he’ll talk.”

 

“I should get Tyler to talk to him. He’d have a better chance than I would.”

 

“He really loves Tyler, doesn’t he.”

 

“After a rough start, those two really hit it off. They’re best friends but Tyler still respects that Gary is also acting in the capacity of parent. He knows that one day Gary _will_ be a parent, though Tyler considers him one already.”

 

“Cameron, you don’t need my help with Gary. You know what you need to do, now go and do it.”

 

It was such a change from when Cameron and Gary had first started dating. 

 

Cameron let out a sigh. “Fine. I’ll leave.”

 

Cameron went back to his office and took a seat on his couch. Gary showed up in his doorway.

 

“Cameron, Mom is taking me shopping after work today.”

 

“Okay. Hey, Gary. We need to talk.”

 

“Can we do it tonight at home?”

 

“We really need to talk.”

 

“Cameron, relax. It’s okay. We’ll talk when I get home.” Gary walked out of the office before Cameron could respond.

 

Fine. If he had to wait until later this evening, then that’s what he would do. He was going to have this conversation with Gary, and honestly, maybe it was better if they had it at home.

 

***

 

Cameron was lying in bed with a book when Gary got home. Gary walked into the bedroom and handed Cameron a huge stuffed animal.

 

“What is this for?”

 

“Cameron, I know you’re not happy right now. I know that it’s hard for you when I don’t want to be touched.”

 

Cameron understood Gary better than anyone, sometimes even Gary’s mother.

 

“You bought the stuffed animal for me to hug.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Gary, I don’t think that a stuffed animal is going to make me feel better.”

 

“You haven’t even tried it.”

 

Cameron sighed and picked up the bear. He hugged it close to his chest, never taking his eyes off of Gary.

 

It wasn’t the same. Of course it wasn’t the same. There was nothing like being able to hold Gary in his arms.

 

He didn’t know if it was because Gary was so earnest about this or if it actually did work a bit, but Cameron felt some of the tension he had been feeling ease up.

 

“Did it help?”

 

“It helped some. I’d still rather hug you.”

 

“I know. I’m sorry.”

 

“Who came up with the idea for the stuffed bear?”

 

“Mom suggested it. I told her that you were starting to get frustrated around me and she figured out it was because we haven’t touched in a week.”

 

“Is that why she took you shopping after work?”

 

“Yes. Do you still want to talk?”

 

“I think we’re probably good now.”

 

“Cameron, you need to tell me when it starts bothering you. I know I can’t do anything to fix it, but I still want to know.”

 

“And I guess I have the bear now to hug.”

 

“And sleep with at night.”

 

Cameron snickered. “Yeah. I guess so.”

 

Gary smiled and left the bedroom. Cameron hugged the bear to his chest again and breathed a little easier.

 

He lay down on Gary’s side of the bed, his pillow smelled like him, and kept the bear in his arms. He felt ridiculous, but it was the best he was going to get right now. 

 

*****

 

Gary and Cameron were up to a week and a half of no touching. It was Friday night and Cameron was going to suggest going out to eat so they weren’t sitting at home and just staring at each other.

 

He was sitting on the edge of the bed having just kicked his shoes off, when Gary walked in. 

 

“Gary, how do you feel about going to dinner tonight?”

 

Gary didn’t say anything. He stalked over to Cameron and straddled him on the bed.

 

“I take it you’re feeling better.”

 

Gary kissed him and Cameron wrapped his arms around him. He moved them up the bed and got Gary onto his back.

 

He didn’t bother asking Gary what he wanted. If Gary didn’t want something then he would say something to Cameron. Right now Cameron didn’t want to stop kissing him. 

 

Since taking Gary’s shirt off would require Cameron to stop kissing him, he started working on Gary’s pants.

 

He got them off and started working on his own so that they were both naked from the waist down. Cameron chuckled into the kiss.

 

“What’s so funny?”

 

“We’re naked. Sort of. We both still have our shirts on.”

 

“We should fix that.”

 

Cameron sat up and pulled his shirt off and then he helped Gary off with his own. He grabbed the lube out of the drawer before lying back down on Gary.

 

“I missed you,” Cameron murmured into his ear.

 

He coated his fingers with lube, not wasting any time. He pushed a finger into Gary with a little more force and a little less care than he normally would. Gary didn’t seem to mind. 

 

He added a second finger faster than he normally would too, but he crooked his fingers and massaged Gary’s prostate to make up for it. 

 

“Come on, Cameron,” Gary demanded, impatiently.

 

“Don’t worry, Gary. I’m going to take really good care of you.”

 

He slicked himself up and in one swift movement he was buried inside of Gary. Gary wrapped his legs around Cameron, something he had never done before.

 

Cameron started moving. He started slow. They hadn’t done this in over a week, which wasn’t normal for them, and he just wanted to make sure that he didn’t hurt Gary too much. Gary was being really impatient though.

 

“Cameron.”

 

“Okay, okay.”

 

He repositioned himself and picked up the pace. 

 

“Yes,” Gary groaned, head thrown back against the pillow. He started stroking Gary. There had been enough time without touching each other that Cameron knew he wasn’t going to last and Gary wasn’t going to last either. 

 

Gary leaned up and kissed him. He groaned into Cameron’s mouth as he came and Cameron quickly followed.

 

He decided to chance making Gary uncomfortable and rested on Gary. He didn’t put all of his weight on Gary, though he would have liked to.

 

“That was really good, Gary. I missed that. I missed you.”

 

“I know, Cameron. I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s not your fault. It’s okay.” Cameron rolled off of Gary and lay on his side next to him. “I just hope it’s something we don’t have to go through again.”

 

“Cameron, do you still want to go to dinner?”

 

“How about we order in and eat in bed.”

 

Gary laughed. “Cameron. I like that. Let’s do that.”

 

Cameron pulled Gary in for a kiss. They still had time before they had to order dinner.

 

*****

Cameron’s entire body ached. He hadn’t done anything to make him feel that way. He was glad they weren’t on a case right now. He would be completely useless, especially considering the fact that he was feeling sluggish too.

 

The day was almost over and he was counting down the minutes until he could grab Gary and go home. He was sure that in the past half hour that the standard minute had grown into something that no longer resembled sixty seconds. He wanted to leave now instead of an hour from now.

 

“Are you okay?” a voice asked from his couch. Gary had made a point to pay attention to Cameron in ways he had never done before. He knew Cameron and could tell when Cameron was in a bad mood or a good mood or anything in between. It was something that Gary had been able to do for a while now, but he was getting better and better at it. He must have picked up on Cameron’s unease now.

 

“I’m fine. Just a little sore.” If he said anything more than that Gary would worry, and he didn’t want Gary to worry or to make a fuss.

 

“You’re lying.”

 

“Gary, it’s nothing. I just need to get home and rest. That’s all.”

 

He knew Gary didn’t believe him, but at least Gary left it alone for now. Once they got home it would be a different story. Not that he minded. He loved protective, mother hen Gary.

 

Hell, he loved Gary period.

 

Cameron got up and moved to the couch where Gary put away whatever it was he was doing so that he could put his arms around Cameron.

 

“Thanks, Gary.”

 

“I thought you could use a hug.”

 

“You thought right.”

 

“I’m a good boyfriend.”

 

Cameron chuckled and turned his face so he could kiss Gary’s cheek. “The best.”

 

“You can rest when we get home. I can make us dinner.”

 

Gary was getting much better at cooking and he loved doing it for Cameron. He loved it best when they were cooking dinner together though. So did Cameron. 

 

“That’s very sweet of you, Gary”

 

“I still think that you should tell Dr. Rosen if you don’t feel well.”

 

“If I still feel like this tomorrow, I promise I’ll go see Dr. Rosen, okay?”

 

“I just want you to be happy and healthy.”

 

Something Cameron had said to Gary on more than one occasion.

 

“I know.” He leaned in and kissed Gary.

 

As the hour went by Cameron started feeling worse and worse. He knew that Gary was watching him closely so he tried not to let it show. He didn’t want to talk to Dr. Rosen right now. He just wanted to go home and rest. He was probably just coming down with a bug or something. He just needed to sleep it off.

 

Cameron got them back to the apartment okay and as soon as they were home he changed into his pajamas and crawled into bed. Gary sat on the bed next to him. “Are you going to want food?”

 

“I think I’d like to just sleep, Gary.”

 

“Are you sure? I can make you some soup.”

 

“No. I just want to sleep.”

 

“You feel worse.”

 

“It’s probably just a cold, Gary. I’ll be fine. I just need fluids and sleep.”

 

Gary got off the bed and Cameron was nearly asleep when he came back with a glass of water for Cameron. Cameron didn’t want to move but he knew that Gary was only trying to take care of him. He propped himself up on an elbow and took the glass from Gary. “Thank you, Gary. That was very sweet of you.”

 

He drank as much of the water as he could, which wasn’t very much, which should be worrying but he didn’t care because all he wanted to do was sleep. He handed the glass back to Gary who set it on the nightstand for him. 

 

“Gary, I need to sleep now. Will you be okay?”

 

“Yeah. Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

 

“I know you can, Gary.” He fell back against his pillow and shut his eyes. He felt Gary’s lips brush against his own in a brief kiss and then the world was dark.

 

***

 

Winter had come. Or at least it felt that way in his room. Not that it wasn’t winter outside, but it felt like an extreme in here right now. He pulled the covers over his head and curled into a ball.

 

He was still freezing.

 

He could hear voices talking out in the kitchen. One of them was unmistakably Gary’s. The other voice belonged to a female. He listened a few minutes longer and determined the other voice belonged to Sandra.

 

Cameron needed to get more blankets. He didn’t want to move from bed though. He could call out for Sandra or for Gary and then they could come and help him. Gary would love to do that. 

 

He needed to pee though.

 

He threw the covers off of him even though it was torture. He sat up and immediately collapsed back down. 

 

Dizziness. Chills. He didn’t have a cold. He had the flu. Gary was definitely going to yell at him for not talking to Dr. Rosen sooner, not that Dr. Rosen would have been able to do anything.

 

Slowly, oh so slowly, Cameron managed to sit up. Then he took about as much time trying to get out of bed without falling flat on his face. He managed to make it to the toilet without any incidents. He knew Gary and Sandra would show up once he flushed the toilet. He didn’t mind so much. It was hard being out of bed. He wanted to be back in it so he was glad to let them help out as much as possible.

 

He waited where he was for Gary and Sandra to show up. Gary came in first. Sandra was probably worried that Cameron wasn’t decent.

 

“Are you okay, Cameron?”

 

“I think I have the flu.”

 

“Mom, Cameron says he has the flu.”

 

Sandra walked in and stood next to Gary. “You look like it too.”

 

Cameron managed a small smile. “Thanks for that.”

 

Sandra smiled back and then helped him make his way back to bed. Once he was tucked under the covers he asked her if she could get him more blankets. As she went off in search of some, Gary sat down next to him.

 

“I called my mom and told her you were sick. She insisted on coming over. She wouldn’t listen to me.”

 

“It’s okay, Gary. If I have the flu it’s not a bad thing that she’s here.”

 

“Okay. That’s good.”

 

Sandra walked back in with a pile of blankets and started covering Cameron with them. “I made some soup if you feel up to eating at some point.”

 

“Thanks, but for now I just want to sleep.”

 

Sandra left him and Gary alone.

 

“Do you want me to stay with you?”

 

“You don’t have to, Gary. You can go spend some time with your mother.”

 

“Are you sure? I can stay if you want.”

 

“It’s fine, Gary. I’m just going to sleep. I’ll probably be sleeping a lot over the next few days.”

 

“I wish you weren’t sick.”

 

“I do too.”

 

“If you need anything you can just yell for us. Or you can text me if it hurts to yell.”

 

“Thanks, Gary.”

 

Gary leaned over and kissed his cheek and then he was gone. He was barely out the door when Cameron was already asleep.

 

*****

 

“Are you sure you’re ready to go back to work, Cameron?”

 

“Yes, Gary.”

 

“If you’re ready to go back to work, then does that mean you’re ready to have sex?”

 

Cameron actually wasn’t ready to go back to work. He had been out for a week now and he was still feeling sluggish, but Gary had continued to stay home with him and he knew Gary was eager to get back to work. If Cameron stayed home another day then Gary would too.

 

“There is something I’ve been wanting to try that won’t take too much exertion.”

 

“So you aren’t feeling better.”

 

“I’m just tired, Gary. That’s all. Do you want to have sex or not?”

 

Gary looked at him, considering the question Cameron had just asked. 

 

“I want to have sex.”

 

“Good. Take your clothes off and lie down on your stomach.”

 

Cameron removed his clothing at a much slower pace than Gary. When he was done he slid down the bed so that his face was level with Gary’s ass.

 

Gary’s legs were already spread so he rolled onto his stomach between them, grasped a cheek in each hand, and then parted them. He leaned down and licked at Gary’s hole.

 

“Cameron! Stop.”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“That’s dirty. I saw that when I watched the videos Bill told me to watch, but that’s dirty.”

 

“I don’t mind doing it but I’ll stop if you want me to.”

 

Gary didn’t say anything but he put his head back down on the pillow and spread his legs a bit further. Cameron smirked and lowered his head again. 

 

He licked a stripe across Gary’s hole and then ran his tongue around the rim. He could spend a long time doing this but they had to get to work. Unfortunately.

 

He ran his tongue along Gary’s hole until he started rutting against the bed. He rolled Gary over and sucked him off.

 

“You’d better go shower,” Cameron told him once Gary’s breathing had evened out. 

 

“What about you, Cameron?”

 

“Don’t worry about me. Just go get in the shower. You don’t want to be late.”

 

Gary got out of bed and Cameron stretched with a sigh. He was exhausted and though he was hard, he was in no mood to do anything, not even take care of it himself. He just wanted to sleep. He had to stay awake though because he was going to work and he had to drive him and Gary there.

 

When Gary was done Cameron took his turn in the shower. He hadn’t showered much while he had been sick, he had barely been out of bed, so he took his time now, standing under the hot spray for as long as he could.

 

At the office Cameron collapsed onto his couch. It was all he could do to not lie down and take a nap. He had only been sitting for a few minutes when there was a commotion from the break room and one of the voices belonged to Gary.

 

He pulled himself to his feet and went to investigate. Nina and Gary were arguing. Nina had been leaving Gary alone since Cameron’s hospital stay, but it was easy to see that she still had problems with them. At least she wasn’t aggravating Gary with them.

 

“What’s going on here?”

 

“Cameron, I was trying to make you tea. Nina won’t let me make you tea.”

 

“He could burn this whole building down.”

 

“I can make a cup of tea. Cameron, tell her I can make a cup of tea.”

 

“It’s true. He’s made me plenty of tea while I’ve been sick.”

 

“Nina, is there a problem in here?” Dr. Rosen asked as he entered the break room.

 

“Gary was trying to make tea.”

 

“And why is this a problem?”

 

“Because he could burn the building down.”

 

“That’s true, Nina, but so could any of us. Cameron says he’s made plenty of tea. I’m sure Gary can make a simple cup of tea. There’s nothing complicated about it.”

 

Nina walked off in a huff and Cameron rolled his eyes. 

 

“Thanks, Doc.”

 

Dr. Rosen nodded and left. Gary looked disappointed. “What’s wrong, Gary?”

 

“The tea was supposed to be a surprise.”

 

“I’m sorry. If you still want to make it, I can go wait in my office for it.”

 

Gary smiled and went back to making the tea so Cameron figured they were good. He sat at his desk this time so he could make an attempt to do some work. 

 

Gary came in with his cup of tea and kissed his cheek. “I have to do some work. I’ll come see you later, okay?”

 

“That sounds good, Gary.”

 

Cameron sipped the tea with a sigh. Gary made a really good cup of tea. Cameron was never making his own again.

 

He stayed at his computer for about half an hour before giving up and curling up on the couch. After a few minutes Gary walked in. Cameron scooted to the outer edge of the couch so that Gary could get on the couch beside him if he wanted. 

 

Gary climbed on next to him. The couch really wasn’t made for two people, but they squished together anyway.

 

Gary lay down on his back and Cameron curled up around him, burying his face into Gary’s neck. Gary worked while they lay together and Cameron was okay with that. Gary needed to work and Cameron needed to rest. 

 

“Cameron, that thing we did this morning, what was that called?”

 

“Rimming.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Gary rolled onto his side as Cameron rolled onto his back. There really wasn’t enough room on the couch for the two of them, but Gary seemed content enough and Cameron was always happy having Gary pressed up against him. 

 

Dr. Rosen appeared in his doorway, saw Gary and Cameron curled on the couch together, smiled, and left. 

 

Cameron smiled and kissed the top of Gary’s head. Things were finally really looking up for the two of them. Maybe, just maybe, they would get married sooner than Cameron had intended.


	9. Chapter 9

Their table was packed, as was the restaurant. It was Valentine’s Day and everyone was out for dinner. He and Gary were celebrating two years. They weren’t celebrating alone. 

 

Patti and Tyler were with them, along with Gary’s mom, and the entire team. 

 

Gary was a bit uncomfortable but he was dealing. They were around a large table and his and Gary’s chairs were pushed together while the rest of the table had squished together more than they normally would so that Gary had some semblance of space. 

 

Gary had his arms wrapped around Cameron’s arm and was resting his chin on Cameron’s shoulder. He was ignoring everyone else and so was Cameron. 

 

Cameron still wasn’t sure how this had turned into a group event. He had wanted to take Gary out for a special dinner, just like they had last year, and then Tyler how somehow made it a party of three. After Tyler had joined them it had kind of snowballed from there.

 

Cameron still had no idea how it had happened.

 

“How are you doing?”

 

“I’m okay.”

 

“Are you really?”

 

“Yes. I just don’t know why all these people are here with us.”

 

Cameron chuckled. “I don’t know either, Gary.”

 

Gary moved his head from Cameron’s shoulder and kissed him.

 

“Hey, Gary?”

 

“What?”

 

“Have you thought more about us getting married?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you still want to?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Cameron leaned in close to whisper in Gary’s ear. “I’m not going to ask you tonight, not with everyone here, but know that I want to marry you and I think that we should.”

 

“What if I want to ask you?”

 

Cameron chuckled. “Do you want to ask me?”

 

“When we get married are we going to have a wedding?”

 

“With Tyler as the flower girl.”

 

“It can be a small wedding, right? Just the people that are here.”

 

“That sounds perfect. I don’t want anything too big.”

 

“I don’t have a ring.”

 

“I can buy you an engagement ring for when I propose, Gary. That’s not a problem.”

 

“No. I mean I don’t have a ring for right now.”

 

“I don’t understand.”

 

“When someone proposes do they have to have a ring?”

 

“No.”

 

His heart was beating faster. This was surreal. He couldn’t believe that Gary was actually thinking about proposing to him. Or maybe he was actually going to propose. 

 

“Do I have to get down on one knee?”

 

Gary was going to do it. He was actually going to do it. 

 

Cameron smiled at him. “No. You can do it however you want, Gary.”

 

Gary wrapped his arms around Cameron and whispered in his ear. “Marry me?”

 

It was simple and to the point and it still took Cameron’s breath away. 

 

“Yes,” he whispered back. 

 

Gary laughed and then was kissing him. There was laughter from the group. He had no idea what they were talking about and he didn’t care. 

 

“So, do you want to tell everyone or should I?”

 

Gary kissed him and then turned to face the table. “Cameron and I are getting married,” he announced.

 

Cameron laughed as the group around the table gaped at Gary. Tyler was the first one to cheer and congratulate them. The rest of the group soon joined in, and he and Gary were bombarded with hugs until Gary had to push everyone except Cameron and Tyler away. 

 

He wrapped his arms around Gary and Tyler, a smile on his face. His two year anniversary with Gary was proving to be better than his first, and that was something he hadn’t thought possible.


End file.
